This morning (11am 23rd Nov) British Pakistani Christian Association paid the court fines for the 6 Pakistani Christians recently arrested by Thai authorities
in Pakistan. The family were arrested on 21st November during raids which were ostensibly in place to root out illegal drug dealers and human traffickers,
however as usual it was Pakistani Christians who became the main target. Not one of them has been convicted of any crime but overstaying their visa
Francis Dabrera our local friend shared his view on the arrest, he said:
“The Thai Immigration Police arrested Asif Hasro (46 yrs) and his wife Aneela (43 yrs), and their 4 grown up children Eliasaph (25 yrs), Elias (23 yrs), Rebecca (22 yrs) and Jasmine (20 yrs), and had a Thai reporter at hand to show that the Government is cracking down on illegal immigrants – they want to show that they re cracking down on illicit over-stayers involved in drug dealing, prostitution, sex trafficking and the like, but no differentiation was made with regard to persecuted minorities who have fled to Thailand in real fear of their lives.”
Read full story (click here).
Our thanks to Papa Thongchai and Robert Micah Lovell who travelled to Khwaeng Chom Pom Court and administered the payment of the fines for us.
Mr Lovell also covered a small difference in the actual sum of the fines paid after an estimation of the costs by our officer in Thailand was
slightly off.
Papa Thongchai and Mr Lovell counselled the victims and prayed with them and BPCA will continue to provide whatever help and counselling we can for
the family going forward.
The family will now be detained in the Immigration Detention Centre of Bangkok where they will suffer cramped living, food paucity, some brutality
and a lack of health provision. Even then the IDC will provide a better situation then the infamous Central Jail where inmates are stripped,
where shackles and chains, are detained with murders and rapists and often find themselves bullied and tortured by inmates and prison wardens alike.
BPCA provides two schools for asylum seekers in Thailand and we also provide international advocacy, advice and support to the thousands of Pakistani Christians in Bangkok. Our work comes at a cost and we desperately need your help to sustain our provision. If you would like to help towards the finance we require for such work you can donate by (clicking here).
Please sign our petition to alter the way Pakistani Christians are assessed by UNHCR and treated by Thai Authorities (click here). Many Western nations still refuse to accept Pakistan persecutes its Christian minority and often asylum cases are failed due to a perceived ability to relocate to another safe area of Pakistan. BPCA does not believe there is any area in Pakistan that is completely safe for Christians.
