Case of the golden goose?: Aasia Bibi’s lawyer has a new patron NGO, yet again

Counsel Chaudhry says change not motivated by money, would benefit Aasia Bibi in the end.

LAHORE:

Switching his patron non-government organisation for the third time, the counsel for death row convict Aasia Bibi has now filed an application in the Lahore High Court stating that he has been engaged for Aasia Bibi’s case on behalf of Legal Evangelical Association Development (LEAD), The Express Tribune has learnt.

Advocate SK Chaudhry had filed an appeal against Aasia Bibi’s conviction in 2010 on behalf of Bishop John Joseph Shaheed Foundation, an NGO based in Faisalabad. In 2013, Advocate Chaudhry switched to Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), headed by Joseph Francis. He was given Rs300,000 by CLAAS to take the case on their behalf. Advocate Chaudhry has now filed such an application for the third time. He reportedly received Rs5,000 from LEAD, an NGO headed by Sardar Mushtaq Gill.

The main counsel in Aasia Bibi’s case, Chaudhry filed the application for an early hearing on the matter and mentioned two people as lawyers for the case – Eric John and Advocate Sardar Mushtaq Gill – both representatives of Legal Evangelical Association Development.

Although Gill has been mentioned as an advocate of the high court, there is no record with the Lahore High Court Bar Association that shows that he has been registered with them.

Advocate Anis Saadi, chairman of Free Legal Aid and Settlement (FLAAS), who is also pursuing Aasia Bibi’s case, told The Express Tribune that various NGOs were trying to get associated with the case in order to seek donations from abroad. He said several NGOs had so far taken millions of rupees in donations claiming that they were trying to get Aasia Bibi released from prison.

Saadi said his NGO had been associated with the case since 2010 and had not taken a single penny from a donor or anyone else. He said they had taken up the case voluntarily. He said although he was based in England, his associate Advocate Yasin Badar had been defending Aasia Bibi in court.

Sardar Mushtaq Gill, chairman of Legal Evangelical Association Development, told The Express Tribune that they had filed an application from the platform of Legal Evangelical Association Development to get Aasia Bibi released. He said the organisation had had a meeting with Chaudhry in this regard and had paid him a fee as well. He said Chaudhry had not agreed to do this for money, but because he was personally associated with him as an advocate.

Advocate Chaudhry told The Express Tribune that although his new application was not on behalf of CLAAS, it made no difference whether it was filed on behalf of another NGO. He said the application was in good faith and would benefit Aasia Bibi.

Later during the conversation, Chaudhry admitted that he had received Rs5,000 from Gill but said that “he had been cheated”. He said Gill had introduced himself as an associate of CLAAS, later when he [Chaudhry] was filing the application, Gill and John added their names under his name as representatives of Legal Evangelical Association Development.

John told The Express Tribune that he and Gill had not cheated Chaudhry. He said it was obvious from the beginning that they did not represent CLAAS and had wanted to pursue the case on their own.

To a question, he said it was important to have the power of attorney to be able to present Aasia Bib in court. They only decided to engage a lawyer who was already associated with the case.

Joseph Nadeem, who voluntarily takes care of Aasia Bibi’s family, told The Express Tribune that the legal team of Free Legal Aid and Settlement was representing Bibi in court voluntarily, without monetary benefits.

An additional district and sessions judge in Nankana Sahib sentenced Aasia Bibi to death on November 8, 2010, declaring her guilty of blasphemy. She was also fined Rs100,000.

Presently her counsel comprise advocates Amjad Ali Sherazi, Shehzad Chaudhry, Muhammad Yasin Badar (a member of Free Legal Aid and Settlement), Nadeem Ashiq, Naeem Ashiq, MPA Khalil Tahir Sindhu, SK Chaudhry, Sardar Mushtaq Gill and Eric John. Advocates Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, Hameed Chaudhry, Khawaja Ibrar Majal and Mian Asghar Mahmood represent the complainant.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2014.