The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found the Government of Pakistan violated international human rights law by detaining Pakistani citizens Rohan Ahmad, Usman Ahmad, and Tariq Ahmad Shehzad. Responding to a legal petition filed by Freedom Now, the UN concluded that the arrest of the three men had no legal basis, was directly related to exercising their right to freedom of religion, their detention violated fair trial norms, and is a violation of international law barring discrimination.
“We welcome the Working Group’s decision,” Freedom Now Legal Officer Adam Lhedmat said. “Rohan, Usman, and Tariq have been detained for over three years in pre-trial detention, for nothing more than peacefully exercising their religious beliefs. “We call on the government to abide by the Working Group’s decision and release them immediately.”
Rohan Ahmad, Usman Ahmad, and Tariq Ahmad Shehzad are active members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, whose members frequently face persecution in many Muslim majority countries, including in Pakistan.
On May 26, 2020, Rohan was arrested by officers from the Federal Investigation Agency on allegations that he shared blasphemous content in connection to text messages that he sent with links to Islamic texts. After interrogating Rohan, authorities on September 29, 2020 arrested Usman and Tariq on allegations that they conspired with Rohan to prepare and share blasphemous content.
Authorities charged all three men as part of a criminal conspiracy with spreading hate speech, religious incitement, defiling the Qur’an, blasphemy, and propagating the Ahmadiyya Muslim faith. Several of these charges carry a potential sentence of life imprisonment under Pakistan law, and the blasphemy charge carries a potential death sentence. The indictment states that these charges stem from the defendants’ collaboration to prepare and share Islamic texts online. All three men strenuously deny sharing any blasphemous materials or defiling the Quran
The courts, including the Supreme Court, have refused to release the men on bail on the grounds that one of the charges, defiling the Qur’an, is a non-bailable offence. As of December 2022, the trial has not started, as the government has refused to turn over investigation case file against the defendants. This decision is currently on appeal without a hearing date set. If convicted, the men could be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.