Amir Abdur Rehman Cheema
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Amir Abdur Rehman Cheema (Urdu: عامر عبد الرحمن چیمہ) was a 28-year-old Pakistani textile engineering student who entered the offices of the German daily Die Welt on March 20, 2006 with a large knife and was quickly arrested by building security guards.[1] He admitted his intent was to kill Roger Köppel, an editor at the paper, for reprinting the Jyllands-Posten cartoons of Muhammad. On May 3, while awaiting trial and in German police custody, he committed suicide in his cell.[citation needed]
The circumstances of his death were disputed: German authorities and the deputy head of Pakistan's embassy in Berlin said that he committed suicide by hanging himself with a noose made from his garments. Cheema's family rejected this, telling the media that he was tortured to death; however, they offered no evidence to support their statement. Nonetheless, a motion was introduced in Pakistan's national assembly by a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami party to discuss the circumstances of Cheema's death. The post-mortem examination, carried out in the presence of two Pakistani officials, found no signs of torture.[2]
Cheema's body was repatriated to the town of Saroki, in Punjab, on 13 May. About 30,000 people attended his funeral.Many of those in the crowd were Islamic party activists and religious students, according to reports.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Karikaturenstreit: Selbstmord nach versuchtem Angriff auf Chefredakteur der "Welt" - Politik - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten
- ^ http://www.n24.de/politik/inland/index.php/n2006051018433100002
- ^ 30000 people attended'
- Pakistani found dead in German jail - Aljazeera news
- http://www.dawn.com/2006/05/06/top5.htm
- Man suspected of cartoons revenge plot kills himself - Scotsman newspaper
- http://www.pasban.org/pasban-amircheema.html
- BBC story, in Urdu
- http://www.ummat.com.pk/leads_news/lead13.htm Urdu language article from Daily Ummat
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4768615.stm
