Minority rights activist Luke Victor was subject to custodial torture, and Ghazala Shafique was manhandled by Faisalabad police for questioning them about their deployment at the residence of pastor Eleizer - who reportedly survived the assassination attack and later gave a statement that the attack was planned by him - and his ‘illegal’ house arrest.
In a video message, both minority rights activists stated that they had been released, but their phones were still in the possession of the police.
Human rights activist Jibran Nasir shared on X, formerly Twitter, “When Luke was released from Sadr Thana Faisalabad, he had bruises all over his body. His crime was to help find the truth about the Pastor Eliezer case, who got shot a few days after the Jaranwala incident,” he said.
“While Luke and Pastor Ghazala have been released Pastor Eliezer has been reportedly arrested by transposing him from complainant to accused in the very FIR the pastor got registered against attack on him.”
On September 5, a video message from Pastor Eliezer surfaced on social media, which was recorded in an ambulance when he was being shifted to the hospital. In the statement, the pastor said that unidentified assailants on a motorcycle shot and wounded him when heading home after dropping his child off at school.
Later, pastor Eliezer confessed before police that the attack was planned and that his aim was to get asylum abroad.
Ghazala Shafique and many other minority rights activists believe Pastor Eliezer was forced and pressured to make that statement.
In a recent video statement, pastor Eliezer said, “I was detained for 11 days without any FIR just for an investigation, and [initially] they refused to give me food and water. Later, when I requested food and water, a police officer responded with abusive and derogatory words.