Germans asked to explain death in Berlin police custody

May 5, 2006, 15:53 GMT

Islamabad - The Pakistan government has asked German authorities to explain the cause of death of a Pakistani national who perished in police custody in Berlin, a foreign ministry official said on Friday.

'The German authorities in Berlin are expected to complete the investigation shortly into the death of Amir Cheema and inform us,' Nadeem Hotiana said.

A resident of Pakistan's garrison town of Rawalpindi, Cheema had been arrested in Berlin on March 18 when he reportedly tried to enter the office of German newspaper 'Bild,' which had printed caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

The German police claimed to have recovered a knife from Cheema, who was a student of textile engineering in Moenchengladbach and had gone to Berlin to see his relatives.

Quoting initial investigation, an Urdu language daily 'Ausaf' said that Cheema committed suicide by hanging himself but did not say when he died.

'The cause of death would be known only after the investigations are completed by German authorities,' Hotiana said.

At least five people were killed in a nationwide protest in Pakistan in February against the publication of derogatory images by some western media which were first printed by Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten.

The German authorities were expected to hand over body of Cheema to Pakistan's embassy in Berlin on Monday to be dispatched to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, members belonging to the six-party Islamist opposition alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal called for the National Assembly to adjourn to a special session to study the issue.

'Killing of Amir Cheema in German police custody has provoked public sentiment in Pakistan, which necessitates a detailed in-house discussion on the issue,' read the motion signed by more than a dozen MPs.

Officials of the assembly secretariat said that the motion would be taken up during Monday's session.