Journalist subject to death threats and intimidation

(CJFE/PEN Canada/IFEX) – An exiled Pakistani journalist living in Toronto has been the target of a series of death threats and acts of intimidation during the past few months. Tahir Aslam Gora, editor and publisher of the local weekly newspaper “Watan”, told CJFE and PEN Canada that several extremist members of the Toronto Muslim community […]

(CJFE/PEN Canada/IFEX) – An exiled Pakistani journalist living in Toronto has been the target of a series of death threats and acts of intimidation during the past few months.

Tahir Aslam Gora, editor and publisher of the local weekly newspaper “Watan”, told CJFE and PEN Canada that several extremist members of the Toronto Muslim community have threatened him as a result of articles he wrote for the publication.

The incidents began in early 2001 after Gora wrote a story about Muslim women’s rights, which included allegations about the practice of polygamy in the Toronto area. In response, he received an anonymous call telling him to cease writing on the topic or else he would be killed. Fellow Muslims have also approached Gora at mosques, warning him not to report on certain issues in “Watan” that they believed were too controversial.

Many of his articles offer a progressive and critical stance on a number of issues relating both to Islamic religious practice and the local Muslim community.

The death threats – including one bomb threat at his home office – continued in March and April, when “Watan” published an article critical of the Taleban regime in Afghanistan, as well as a re-print of a local news story about a Muslim school principal charged with sexually assaulting some students.

Gora reports that “Watan”‘s distribution van has been tailed and a number of firms have pulled their advertising to protest the newspaper’s content.

The latest round of harassment occurred in early July, when Gora received threatening telephone calls at a local community radio station where he hosts an Urdu-language program. Gora also reports having received anonymous e-mail messages, in which his name is included with that of British writer Salman Rushdie. In addition, a conservative Muslim group in the Toronto area recently declared in its publication that Gora was a “non-Muslim,” the meaning of which, according to Gora, is that the person – who was born a Muslim – has now been “sentenced to death.”

In spite of the controversy, Gora has received support from some Toronto-area Muslim leaders and associations.

Gora has been in Canada since April 1999. He fled Pakistan because of threats against him relating to his writings.

Toronto police have investigated the death threats against Gora, but to date no suspects have been identified or charged.

Recommended Action

Appeals To

The Honourable David Young
Attorney General of Ontario
Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Fax: +416 326 4016
E-mail: david_young@ontla.ola.org

The Honourable Sheila Copps
Minister of Canadian Heritage
Room 511-S
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6, Canada
Fax: +819 994 1267
E-mail: min.copps@canadianheritage.gc.ca

Julian Fantino
Chief of Police
Metropolitan Toronto Police
Fax: +416 808 8002
E-mail: officeofthechief@torontopolice.on.ca

Please copy appeals to CJFE and PEN Canada.

For further information, contact the CJFE, 489 College Street, Suite 403, Toronto, Ontario M6G 1A5 Canada, tel: +1 416 515 9622, fax: +1 416 515 7879, e-mail: cjfe@cjfe.org, Internet: http://www.cjfe.org, or
Isobel Harry, Policy Director, PEN Canada, 24 Ryerson Ave., Suite 214, Toronto, ON, M5T 2P3 Canada, tel: +1 416 703 8448, fax: +1 416 703 3870, e-mail: pencan@web.net, Internet site: http://www.pencanada.ca/