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Rationalist International, 2004-01-24
This is a great moment! Rationalist International has received confirmed
information that our rationalist friend and colleague Dr. Younus Shaikh has
reached a safe haven in Europe!
...
Sentenced to death in a made-up blasphemy trial in August 2001, Dr. Shaikh
was languishing in solitary confinement in one of the dreaded death cells of
Rawalpindi Central Jail for more than two years, before the High Court,
after a conflicting decision in the appeal trial, referred the case back to
the sessions court [Bulletin # 117].
The retrial took place in greatest secrecy and under heavy security in the
jail itself. Dr. Shaikh, who had personally overtaken his defense, was
acquitted and released. He dispensed with government provided security
guards and returned into the circle of his family and friends, where he
spent some weeks in hiding before secretly leaving Pakistan.
...
The case of Dr. Shaikh is only the most publicized among hundreds of
blasphemy cases in Pakistan. The fight against the draconian blasphemy law,
the bloody weapon in the hands of religious fundamentalists and unscrupulous
forces acting in their shadow, has to continue till this inhuman and
antidemocratic law is abolished.
We express our great respect for the brave and courageous fighters at this
front inside Pakistan: the lawyers, who defended Dr. Shaikh and are
continuously defending other blasphemy accused at the risk of their own
lives, and the committed and courageous members of the independent Human
Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), without whose silent support our
common efforts may not have succeeded.
See also:
Dispatches, CBC Radio One —
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2004-01-21
Report from a mountain near Durban, South African, where a Zulu sect—which
opposes the use of condoms—holds an annual pilgrimage. The sect claims between one and
three million adherents, mainly among the rural poor, and practices a mixture of Old Testament
Christianity and Zulu tradition. In a country ravaged by HIV-AIDS, the sect adamantly opposes
what it calls "condomizing".
...this is a holy month for many of the Zulu of South Africa. To followers of the faith known as Shembe, it's a
time for religious pilgrimage to a place where mysticism collides with the modern.
...
They say HIV-AIDS is a punishment from God, just as predicted by the founding prophet....
They will not wage war on the scourge of HIV-AIDS. The Shembe have chosen not to set aside their
ancient traditions in order to save their people. It's a tragic paradox.
Webmaster's comment:
The Catholic Church and other influential Christian churches which vocally oppose the use of condoms
must be held at least partially responsible for this tragic situation.
CBC Radio News —
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2004-01-15
The Catholic Church attempts to avoid financial responsibility for Newfoundland sex abuse cases.
If it succeeds, Canadian taxpayers may be stuck with a much larger bill in the related residential school case.
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada reserved judgment late Wednesday in a case that could open the Roman
Catholic Church to liability for sexual abuse committed by its priests. At the moment, victims can sue the
offending priest as well as the individual episcopal corporation that employs him, but not the billion-member
worldwide church because it is not an incorporated body. If a local corporation is low on funds, victims may
not see much money even in a successful lawsuit, despite the fact that the Roman Catholic Church as a whole
has extensive assets.
The case argued before the Supreme Court this week focuses on lawsuits filed by 36 victims of former
Newfoundland priest Kevin Bennett. He committed hundreds of assaults on young boys over the course of
30 years, and served time in jail for his crimes.
If the Supreme Court rules that the Catholic Church cannot be held liable for damages because it is not
incorporated, the federal government could be on the hook for big money in more than 11,000 other lawsuits.
About 60 per cent of them involve aboriginal residential schools that were operated by the Government of
Canada in partnership with the Roman Catholic Church. If the church can't be held liable, the federal
government alone may be responsible to pay damages to tens of thousands of victims.
See also:
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