Cut prisoners off from society, murder victim’s family pleads
Anger after religious killer phones extremist in Pakistan from prison
THE family of a murdered Glasgow shopkeeper are calling for prisoners to be “properly locked away from the community” while in jail after his killer was able to phone a radical cleric in Pakistan from prison.
Tanveer Ahmed was last year jailed for at least 27 years for the “brutal, barbaric and horrific” murder of Asad Shah.
The Bradford taxi driver had believed Mr Shah, who belonged to the persecuted Ahmadi sect, had committed blasphemy by claiming to be a prophet in a series of incoherent YouTube videos. But Ahmed’s crime has inspired a rising number of Pakistanis who see him as a “defender of Islam” for having killed someone they believe disrespected the Prophet Muhammad.
Ahmed, 32, had raised his profile by making a series of audio messages to extremists in Pakistan by telephone from his Scottish jail. He has now been banned from using the phone and is not even allowed to call his wife.
But now Mr Shah’s family have appealed to the Scottish Government to ensure sure prisoners, such as Ahmed, are kept in isolation from the outside world.
His widow Khalid said: “They should not have a voice outside of the prison walls. For my life partner taken away from me in this inhumane way will never be justifiable.
“My husband of 12 years was the perfect gift for me to spend my life with in this world. He was a very loving caring person and took care of my every need. He always put others before himself.”
Some 400 supporters last month gathered outside the Ahmed family’s home in the city of Mirpur, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, for a rally in his honour and chanted slogans praising Ahmed as “brave” and “courageous”.
A hardline cleric called Khadim Rizvi, of Labaik Ya Rasool Ullah, had previously praised Ahmed at another rally, in Karachi. Rizvi has also published Ahmed’s telephone messages on his Facebook page. Mr Shah’s, father Naeem, added: “I hope and wish for the Government, the justice system, the prison service, the police, the community and the media to do more to safeguard the peace-loving people of Britain and take more responsibility to prevent the spread of hate and divide.”
Ahmadis in Scotland have become increasingly alarmed over events in Pakistan and have accused some mainstream Sunni Muslimsofspreadingbigotryfrom the subcontinent to Europe.
Mr Shah, however, was experimenting with his own beliefs and came close to being expelled from the Ahmadi community, although his friends defended him, saying he was unwell. But his family have denied he was suffering from any illnesses.
His mother Saqida said: “My son was fit and healthy. He worked seven days a week at the family store and also managed family properties, along with taking care of his own family and friends and the community.
“Asad spent 90 per cent of his day helping others around him and the response from them speaks for itself. I raised him to be a good human being. To have my son robbed from me in this way... God will give me justice.”