 The court in Amsterdam sentenced Younis K. (39) to nine years on Monday. They were shown evidence that he beat his wife, Aisha K (36), to death in their home in Amsterdam-Zuidoost in August 2007. His cousin, Tariq S (38) was acquitted. The prosecution had asked for 14 years in prison for both men.
K. supposedly murdered his wife because she wanted to divorce him and go live with another man. In this way the mother of four shamed the honor of his Pakistani family. The man killed his wife buy beating her many times, probably also with cricket bats. The court called the murder 'horrible' and said that Aisha K. must have suffered 'terrible pain'. "That the victim wanted to divorce can in no way even somewhat justify the acts of the suspect." During the trial K. more of less blamed his cousin for the death of his wife. He had asked him to come and mediate on that day. After which he had gone outside for a minute. When he came back, his wife was lying seriously injured in their home. The court did not deem this plausible, as nobody saw K. outside at the time of the murder.
The prosecution said that K. didn't beat his wife to death on his own, but that his cousin helped him. The court concluded that there were indications this was so, but that there was insufficient evidence that the injuries of the victim were caused by two people. The court gave K. a lighter sentence than demanded by the prosecution. They sentenced him for manslaughter and not for murder, which was the demand of the prosecution. The investigation of the case was not without difficulties. For a long time K. claimed that he had beat his wife himself. When he appeared in court in April, he suddenly said that he hadn't touched her at all, but that his cousin had been home at the time of the murder. S. was subsequently arrested.
K. will appeal his sentence, said his lawyer, Richard van der Weide. "My client is very disappointed and affected by this wrongful conviction, in his eyes." He says the court looked too much at the man's first statements, which were demonstrably inaccurate. The public prosecution didn't say yet whether they'll appeal.
 "Asians." "Men." "Men of South Asian origin." "Pakistanis." "Men." "Born in Pakistan." "Pakistani origin." Eight paragraphs in, we learn it was a "suspected Islamist cell." Until then, one might almost have gotten the impression that Pakistan had declared war on Spain.
And that is the problem with this kind of coverage, which is, of course, thoroughly ordinary. It is not because they are "men," or "Asians," or "Pakistanis" that they are waging war on Spain. So these reports are essentially misleading. "Asians jailed over planned metro attack," from AFP, December 15 Spain's anti-terrorism court has convicted 11 men of South Asian origin, mostly Pakistanis, in connection with a plot to stage suicide attacks in the Barcelona metro last year. The men have received jail terms of between eight and 14 years, a copy of the ruling indicates. They intended to "carry out a violent attack using explosives against the Barcelona metro, which could have caused many casualties", the court said on Monday. "The indiscriminate aim is evidence of the terrorist nature of the attacks." Shaib Iqbal and Qadeer Malik, both born in Pakistan, received the stiffest terms of 14 years and six months for "belonging to a terrorist group" and for "weapons possession". Maroof Ahmed Mirza, also of Pakistani origin and who the court said was "the leader of the group", was jailed for 10-and-a-half years for "belonging to a terrorist group", while the other eight each received terms of eight-and-a-half years on the same charge. Ten of the men were arrested in the northeastern city of Barcelona in January 2008 in raids during which police also recovered bomb-making equipment. Another was detained five months later in the Netherlands. The charges were based on the declarations of an informant who was a member of the suspected Islamist cell and who then became a protected witness. The court said the cell was inspired by Baitullah Mehsud, leader of a Pakistani Taliban group linked to al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.... In May 2007, Spain's high court acquitted 11 Pakistanis of planning extremist attacks in Barcelona, but convicted three of them of collaborating with terrorists and two of falsifying documents. With thanks to JihadWatch 
 Italian police say they have arrested two Pakistani men accused of providing logistical support for last year's deadly attacks in Mumbai. The two, father and son, were detained during an early-morning raid in Brescia, police in the northern Italian city said on Saturday. The suspects managed a money-transfer agency and helped fund the November 26 attacks, police said in a statement. The day before the attacks, they transferred money to activate an internet phone account that was used by the attackers and their accomplices, Stefano Fonzi, the head of anti-terror police in Brescia, said. The attacks in India's economic capital killed at least 166 people and left another 300 injured. Ten men are believed to have carried out the 60-hour assault. New Delhi and Washington blamed the siege on Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned Pakistan armed group. Italian police began the investigation in December after being alerted by the FBI that the money had been sent from Italy, Fonzi told The Associated Press news agency. The funds were transferred under the identity of another Pakistani man who had never been in Italy and was not involved in the alleged crimes, he said. The two are accused of aiding and abetting international terrorism as well as illegal financial activity. Transferring funds using the identity of other people was a common practice at the Brescia agency, Fonzi said in a telephone interview. Two more Pakistanis were arrested in Saturday's raids for allegedly committing fraud and other crimes using the same system, but they were not linked to the Mumbai attacks. A fifth Pakistani man escaped arrest and was still being sought. India has repeatedly called on Islamabad to charge the founder of Lashkar, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, with masterminding the Mumbai attacks. New Delhi has been demanding action against Saeed and other Pakistan-based fighters before it will resume a formal peace process. Pakistani police announced in September that Saeed would be arrested for propagating jihad and collecting funds for a charity he heads. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving suspect, told a court in Mumbai in July that he was one of the attackers. He gave details of his group's journey from Pakistan on a boat, their subsequent landing in Mumbai, and the rampage that followed as they shot and killed people at a railway station, a Jewish centre and two five-star hotels, including the iconic Taj Mahal. Al Jazeera
 ISLAMABAD: Peshawar-based Mustafa Kamal has had enough: he has just got his12-year-old son freed from a band of criminals in the lawless tribal area of Khyber agency by paying a ransom. He has left a lucrative job with Pakistan's telecommunication department and now has the immigartion papers for Canada ready for his entire family.
``I'm lucky to have found my son alive. But I won't take any more risk. Life has become extremely dangerous — it's not worth living here. Enough'senough,'' says Kamal.
For a country badly bloodied by a wave of suicide attacks (at least eight this month alone), the next tragedy appears to be collapse of governance. The Pakistani state is pitted against a wide array of militant groups across the country in a situation teetering on the brink of a civil war. And the chasm between the government and the people seems to be growing by the day.
The popular perception is that Pakistan is fighting the US war against terror. Many people in the lawless North West Frontier Province say Pakistan has been sold to the US piece by piece. Under coercion, they argue, Pakistan has started a war that has consumed its economy, national security, and has torn apart its social fabric.
``Our national integrity is at risk. I wish not to see the end of Pakistan in my lifetime. It is not yet too late for Pakistan to return from the precipice of national suicide. Pakistan must take a u-turn and preempt the civil war. Pakistan must say an emphatic no to the US,'' says Rabnawaz Khan, a former Pakistani diplomat, stressing that an internally torn Pakistan does not weaken but strengthens militants.
The civil unrest has spilled into many parts, giving rise to fear psychosis among citizens. So much so that when twin blasts rocked Islamabad's Islamic University on October 20, many did not believe that it was militants' handiwork. Instead, they blamed ``indistinct forces out to discredit Islam or weaken Pakistan''.
That attack led the authorities to take an unprecedented step of closing down all schools, colleges and other training institutions in the country. ``The law and order situation has only worsened since the military operations against the Taliban started. How can we believe that things will normalize by carrying out a big operation in Waziristan? I think the repercussions are going to be more blasts and suicide attacks,'' said Palwasha Zia, a third year student of Home Economics in Peshawar.
``People are very scared. Every time I go to market, I worry about blasts. We are being targeted and our life has become very difficult. We are hoping the situation will get better. What else can we do?'' says Shaheen Akhtar, a deputy provost of Peshawar University.
October has been the cruelest month. Militants have struck UN offices, police buildings, army headquarters in Rawalpindi and ambushed security forces. The government response has been on expected lines: it swiftly sent troops to battle the entrenched militants in trouble-torn South Waziristan and beefed up security in all major cities. Reportedly, there were at least 72 check posts at entry and exit points around sensitive installations in Islamabad before these attacks. Now, the check points have been increased up to 300 in the federal capital.
Has it helped? Margalla Road, the most expensive and posh area of Islamabad, has almost been turned into a fortress, with concrete barricades, security pickets and barbed wires installed in most of the places. The residents say driving inside the capital has become extremely difficult as they are checked several times a day during routine work. ``Establishing security pickets in residential areas and check points have not resolved the issue of law and order; rather the situation has further deteriorated,'' said a traffic police official in Islamabad's Blue area, wishing not to be named.
Just two days after the attack on Islamic university that killed seven people, suspected militants shot dead a senior Pakistani army officer of brigadier rank and a soldier in Islamabad on Wednesday, suggesting militants are shifting tactics in the face of a sweeping army drive in their South Waziristan stronghold.
``First, it was Peshawar. Then Islamabad and Karachi, and now Lahore and Rawalpindi. When you live in a place which is under threat of continuous attacks, you'll have to think twice before you step out of your house. The scare among people is visible — there are fewer people out on streets,'' says Mujeeb-ur Rehman, a news anchor in Islamabad-based TV station.
The frequent terror attacks have greatly damaged the business climate. Nasir Dawood, who ran a boutique shop in Rawalpindi's Raja Bazaar till last week has finally shut shop. ``My business was badly damaged in the last one year. Scared customers don't come for shopping. To avoid any further losses, I had no option,'' Nasir said.
Habibullah Zahid, another businessman who owns four restaurants in Peshawar, has shifted his family to Islamabad to escape the constant threats of militants. ``Though my business was affected, I left Peshawar due to threats to my life. A group of militants or criminals in the Khyber tribal area has made it a habit to make threatening calls, demanding money in millions. I could no more give in to their demands,'' says Zahid. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistanis-too-scared-to-leave-home-many-want-to-flee-country/articleshow/5166427.cms
Claudia, belga di origine africana, gettata nel fiume dal marito pachistano
Bruxelles, uccisa perché voleva divorziare DAL NOSTRO CORRISPONDENTE BRUXELLES — Da lontano, al telefono, si sente un bambino piccolo che piange, o strilla per gioco, da qualche parte nella stanza alle spalle di Kadidja Lalembaidje: «È Maxime, il mio nipotino, il figlioletto di Claudia. Ha 8 mesi. Otto mesi, capito? Mia figlia avrebbe voluto crescerlo secondo i suoi valori: considerare sempre gli altri degli essere umani come noi, cercare di comprendere le loro ragioni. Ma è capitata con quello là, il talebano, l'ha sposato, gli ha dato un figlio. Lui la picchiava, ha cercato 3 volte di strangolarla perché non voleva che uscisse, che si vestisse normalmente. Le diceva: attenta, le donne devono essere sottomesse all'uomo. Citava sempre il Corano. E quando lei ha chiesto il divorzio, lui le ha risposto: ricordalo, in Pakistan il matrimonio è per la vita o per la morte. Così è stato, l'ha uccisa. Lui e i suoi due fratelli, in tre l'hanno uccisa. Come già avevano ucciso la moglie di un quarto fratello in Pakistan, buttandola nel fiume. Anche lei nel fiume, come mia figlia. E proprio per quello erano poi fuggiti in Europa. Ma che ne sapevamo, noi?».
Claudia Lalembaidje, 32 anni, emigrata a Bruxelles dal Ciad era da poco diventata mamma. È stata ritrovata seminuda con le mani e i piedi legati e il volto sfigurato dentro una valigia sul fiume Escaut. Incriminato per l’omicidio il marito pachistano, dal quale la donna voleva divorziare. L’uomo la picchiava spesso: la madre di lei ha riferito che lui non tollerava che lei uscisseAlla fine, il pianto soffoca la voce: «Ora ci hanno detto che quel quarto fratello si è suicidato. Ecco che famiglia aveva incontrato Claudia, ecco che destino ha avuto». Claudia era scomparsa il 14 giugno, la sua foto era finita sul sito del Chi l'ha visto? belga. L'altro ieri, nel fiume Escaut che va dalla Francia al Belgio, trovano una valigia chiusa: dentro, un corpo seminudo, mani e piedi legati, il viso sfigurato. È lei, c'è il tremendo sospetto di uno stupro per sfregio. Il marito ora è in cella, come il secondo fratello. Il terzo è in fuga. Questa è una storia che non giunge da un remoto villaggio, ma da Bruxelles, capitale d'Europa. Dal quartiere di Schaerbeek, abitato da una vasta e pacifica comunità di immigrati. Come Claudia Lalembaidje, 32 anni, vissuta fino ai 15 nel nativo Ciad, poi emigrata con la madre e le sorelle (il padre, colpito dalle sofferenze della guerra, vive ancora nel Ciad). Dopo aver fatto studi teatrali e aver preso un diploma da infermiera, Claudia aveva lavorato alla Croce Rossa. «Ora, diventata madre, aveva un sogno: aprire un asilo per bambini. Ecco, questo era lei, una persona luminosa»: parla Daniele Cardella, funzionario italiano del Parlamento europeo ed ex-fidanzato della giovane, con la quale ha convissuto per 3 anni e mezzo. «Prima Claudia aveva aiutato a crescere i figli piccoli delle sorelle, e poi aveva pensato a sé. Noi ci eravamo lasciati, come capita, ma eravamo rimasti amici, e sua mamma si confidava spesso con la mia. Così abbiamo saputo di quel pachistano. Per esempio, di quando nacque Maxime e lui annunciò: a 5 anni dovrà avere in pugno il Corano».
«Quel pachistano» è Alì, alias Hammad Raza Syed, immigrato clandestino in Belgio con i fratelli. Voci di quartiere: nomi falsi, traffici di passaporti, forse qualcosa di più. Lui sposa Claudia nel luglio 2008: ma subito si scopre che, più che alla moglie, è interessato al permesso di soggiorno, da ottenere attraverso le nozze. Non è però tanto facile, e poi Claudia continua a lavorare, non rinuncia alla sua personalità. Così ecco le botte, e il resto: «La vedevamo sempre più sciupata e preoccupata», racconta ancora Daniele. Finché, una sera, Claudia annuncia al marito che ha chiesto il divorzio («È scandalo», urla Hammad) e che avrà lei la custodia del bambino. Poco dopo, alla porta di casa compaiono i due cognati: «Perché in Pakistan ci si sposa per la vita o per la morte». Luigi Offeddu
loffeddu@rcs.it
05 luglio 2009 Source: http://www.corriere.it/cronache/09_luglio_05/Bruxelles_uccisa_divorziare_offeddu_4d7d3100-6942-11de-b037-00144f02aabc.shtml
 Officials in London and Islamabad said Britain had begun seeking assurances about how the men would be treated if they were returned to Pakistan. "The British wanted to be reassured that if some of these men were deported they would not face torture," an informed source in Pakistan said. One of the 12 men detained, an 18-year-old, has been freed from anti-terrorist detention and is held by immigration officials. Investigators are concerned they have not found any firm evidence linking the men to terrorist plans. A source close to the inquiry said: "There is already talk of coming up empty-handed, and there is terrible in-fighting between the different forces involved." Operation Pathway, the code name for the inquiry, has already led to the resignation of Britain's most senior anti-terrorist officer, Bob Quick, after he accidentally revealed details of the arrest plans to photographers in Downing Street. If the operations results in deportations rather than charges, it will embarrass Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who said the police were dealing with "a very big terrorist plot", and criticised Pakistan for not doing more to tackle Islamist terrorism. The operation in Britain has been running covertly for several weeks and went public last Wednesday within hours of Mr Quick's blunder, with daylight raids in Manchester, Liverpool and Clitheroe, Lancashire. The remaining 11 detainees, 10 of whom are believed to be Pakistani nationals in Britain on student visas, are being questioned at police stations across the north of England. Detectives have been granted a further seven days to detain the suspects, who range in age from 22 to 41. They can be questioned for a maximum of 28 days before they have to be charged or released. The investigation is a joint operation between Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, MI5 and the North-West Counter-terrorism Unit. The involvement of so many security services is said to have led to in-fighting and confusion over the command and direction of the inquiry. The latest discussions between London and Islamabad were disclosed as news emerged from Pakistan that its anti-terrorist agencies had been holding a British convert to Islam for two weeks. James McLintock, 44, was detained in Peshawar, from where many of the men arrested in Britain come, and is being questioned about helping British Muslim militants to make contacts in Pakistan. Pakistani and British officials said the arrest of Mr McLintock, from Dundee in Scotland, was not linked to the terrorism investigation in Britain. However, the last time he came to the attention of the British authorities was in late 2003 when he was questioned by anti-terrorist police in Manchester, the city at the heart of the allegations of a terror plot. Meanwhile, the family of a university student said they believed their son had been arrested, and appealed for his release. Relatives of Mohammad Ramzan, from Dera in Pakistan, said they had been unable to contact him since last week. His father, Haji Hazrat Ali, said Mr Ramzan, 25, travelled to Britain in 2006 and was studying for an MBA. "He is a very humble, gentle boy and always concentrates on his studies," he told Associated Press. "I firmly believe he cannot be involved in any negative activity." Source: The Australian
 A PAKISTANI ring of suspected terrorists may have been planning an Easter attack on Manchester targets including three large shopping centres and a nightclub, according to British police. Police and MI5 intelligence analysts decided to seize the 12 men after intercepting emails and other messages suggesting an attack was possible within days - but the arrests were brought forward in a hurry after an embarrassing security bungle on Wednesday, local time. Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, had carried details of the planned raids in a clear plastic folder visible to press photographers as he entered 10 Downing Street to brief Prime Minister Gordon Brown. When police realised that photographers had captured images of the secret notes the raids were rushed forward by about 12 hours to prevent the suspects being tipped off by the photographs. The armed raids had to be carried out in daylight with greater risk to the police and the public than there would have been under the original plan of arresting the men overnight, but the operation was carried out successfully. Hundreds of officers grabbed the 12 men in simultaneous raids at 10 addresses in Manchester, Liverpool and elsewhere in northern England, including a university library in Liverpool and a car being driven on a motorway near Manchester. Mr Quick resigned from the police force the following morning, admitting his mistake "could have compromised a major counter-terrorism operation". That meant his error had cost Britain its most highly qualified anti-terror officer, who has been praised by the Government for helping keep Britain safe. All of the arrested men appear to have come from the al-Qa'ida stronghold of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province or to have family links to the region. Eleven of the men were Pakistanis who entered Britain on student visas and one was a British citizen whose family came from the same region. If police suspicions are correct, the dispatch of such a terror team from Pakistan marks a stark turning point in the tactics of al-Qa'ida-linked extremists targeting Britain, who until now have relied on recruiting and training British-based Islamists. Police say that since the July 2007 suicide bombings on three London trains and a bus they have broken up several terror attempts by home-grown extremists trained in Pakistan, but this is the first time they have encountered a group of Pakistani nationals apparently sent to Britain on such a mission. Mr Quick's counter-terror police unit and MI5 are believed to have had the men under surveillance for a month. Several British newspapers reported yesterday that surveillance agents had allegedly seen the men taking video footage and photographs of each other in front of four Manchester sites that could have been targets. They were the Birdcage nightclub and three shopping areas, the Trafford Centre, the Arndale Centre and St Ann's Square. Some police sources said investigators had not yet identified the potential targets but they decided it was too dangerous to keep waiting for more information. The Christian Holy Week is one of the busiest shopping times of the year and could have been an attractive time for an Islamic extremist attack. Intercepted messages suggested something was going to happen within days, police said. Mr Brown said police had prevented "a very big plot" and he vowed to tell Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that Pakistan had to do more to fight terrorism. "We know that there are links between terrorists in Britain and terrorists in Pakistan," Mr Brown said. "That is an important issue for us to follow through and that's why I will be talking to President Zardari about what Pakistan can do to help us in the future." The incident has raised pressure for a clampdown on student visas, especially those given to Pakistanis. The UK Border Agency said last month that when it checked on the 2100 colleges that had applied for new licences to admit international students, it found 460 were bogus establishments sponsoring students as part of immigration scams. In the four years to April last year Britain issued a total of 42,292 student visas to Pakistani students. Police were believed to be concentrating on Liverpool as they searched yesterday for a suspected bomb factory, but they did not announce any such discovery. Source: The Australian
THREE men convicted of murdering a fellow Pakistani were beheaded by a sword in Saudi Arabia today. Mohammed Akram Shafi, Mohammed Kamran Qassem and Asghar Ali Abdulaziz were executed in the central city of Burida for murdering Mohammed Firyad Mohammed, state news agency SPA reported. The trio had kidnapped Mohammed who worked as a courier for a jewellery shop to steal his money, before stoning him to death. The beheadings brought to 22 the number of executions announced since the start of the year. A total of 102 people were executed last year and a record 153 in 2007. Under Saudi Arabia's strict sharia system of Islamic justice, the death penalty can be applied to crimes of rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking. Source: The Australian
 |
|
|
Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved.
E-mail: info AT ReformIslam.org
|
|
|
The court in Amsterdam sentenced Younis K. (39) to nine years on Monday. They were shown evidence that he beat his wife, Aisha K (36), to death in their home in Amsterdam-Zuidoost in August 2007. 
Posts
