At the urging of local Muslim leaders, police in western Bangladesh have tortured a pastor and two other Christians for legally proclaiming Christ. Habibur Rahman, pastor of Boalia Spiritual Church, was about to start a meeting when police stormed the building. “We will teach you in the police camp how to forget your Christ!” they said as they dragged him to a vehicle.
The three were blindfolded and placed in separate rooms, from which Habibur heard screams. Upon entering his room, they kicked him multiple times demanding to know how many converts he had won, promising there ‘would be no Christians in this area’. They beat him with a club and burned him with cigarettes until he went unconcious.
The police were reluctant to release the men, even when dozens of villagers showed up at the station and said, “We also believe in Christ like these men, so arrest us also if you refuse to release them!”. Finally they were released that night. The next day, thousands of Muslim villagers demonstrated in front of the station chanting for a “Christian-free society”.
Local officials tried to mediate the situation, encouraging everyone to practice their religion freely without interference but local people refused saying, “You will come in the church alive but return home dead.” Police denied the torture, though the physical signs were evident. Jotish Biswas, director of Way of Life Trust, said that he had learned that a local official and some Muslim claricshad prompted police to torture the Christians because of their evangelistic activity.
Freedom of religion is clearly written into the Bangladeshi constitution. Local Muslim villagers have since refused to give work to area Christians, most of whom are day laborers dependent upon obtaining daily work to survive.