All 70 suspects in Gojra fire incident case are acquitted

The decision was taken due to the absence of five witnesses who are not in the country. The 70 suspects were arrested in the case of attacking and setting on fire the Christian colony in Gojra.

During the inquiry, 185 witnesses gave their written statements, however, five witnesses had already left the country. On July 31 2009, a Christian Colony including the area called Korian, was set ablaze resulting in the deaths of eight Christians. Sixty houses were also set on fire.

A case under section-7 of the Anti Terrorism Act was registered against the suspects, but none of the accused were convicted. The attacks were reportedly triggered by a complaint received by a mosque that a Christian had committed blasphemy at a wedding ceremony in a nearby village.

As tensions escalated over the accusation, a mob gathered in Gojra and decided to attack Christians in retaliation. Hundreds of ‘unidentified suspects’ have been presented before the court over the past year and some were declared innocent during the ensuing investigations. The Christian community alleged that the police released the accused because of political pressure.

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