The Spanish government approves Imran Firasat’s extradition to Indonesia.
It seems all set that I will suffer death or severe punishment for exposing the truth about Islam. And it is not fanatic Muslims coming to get me and claim my life, say, like the murder of a British soldier on a London street on 23 May 2013. Instead, the stage for my sufferance of death or severe punishment for criticizing Islam has been set by the Spanish government’s Ministry of Interior, which has decided to extradite me to Indonesia for serving punishment for alleged murder charges.
It should be mentioned here that I have been facing nonstop criminal prosecution in Spain for last several months over my criticism of Islam. And now the Spanish government has set the stage for likely physical elimination. Revealing the truth about Islam and the danger of Islamic Jihad even in a western country like Spain, where it is protected as my right to Freedom of Expression, has turned out a serious crime on my part. Muslims have been trying to track me down and kill me all the time. So far, I have been able to escape their mortal blow, but I can’t escape the Spanish government’s Interior Ministry’s aggressive, unjust and unnecessary steps to facilitate my possible condemnation to death.
The Interior Ministry first revoked my refugee status for making a movie, The Innocent Prophet, on the Life of Prophet Muhammad. Then a number of criminal prosecutions were initiated against me for hate-crimes because of my work on Islam. But since everything I did regarding Islam was within my right to Freedom of Expression and I had no criminal intention, I won the hate-crime cases against me Spanish court without a single hearing being held, and the judge concluded that I have committed no crime.
And today, just four weeks after I was acquitted of hate-crimes by the Spanish court, the Ministry of Interior has decided to extradite me to Indonesia, the biggest Muslim nation in the world, for serving punishment in fabricated murder charges.
Indonesian authority’s murder charge against me: In 2010, while living in Indonesia with my Indonesian wife, I was arrested by the Indonesian police in connection to my offensive writings and compositions on Islam in the Internet. After the arrest, they decided to deport me from Indonesia and released me temporarily after withholding my passport until my deportation date was scheduled. I was order to report to the police and immigration authorities periodically until the deportation. During the subsequent period, I paid several visits to the immigration head office in Indonesia. And finally, I was deported on 7 July 2010 to Spain, where I held refugee status.
About four months after I returned to Spain, the Spanish police arrested me as per a request from Interpol on behalf of Indonesia. Only at this point, I became aware that I had been convicted for a murder in Indonesia about four months ago and was sentenced to 20-year imprisonment on July 16 2010, only 8 days after I was deported from Indonesia.
This means that on the day of my deportation on 7 July 2010, the Indonesian authorities had nothing against my name in connection to the murder in question. After that, criminal investigations against me in connection to the murder were initiated, I was duly charged for the murder, trial for the murder was completed, and I was convicted and sentenced to 20-year imprisonment – all in an incredible 8-day time.
After receiving the request for my arrest and extradition from Interpol, the Spanish High Court in Madrid, as per normal convention, ordered me to appear before a judge to study my incrimination in the murder case before handing me over to Interpol. The Court also invited the Indonesian authorities to attend the hearing and present their evidence on my incrimination in the said homicide. Multiple dates were set for the hearing and every time I attended, but the Indonesian authorities never came to present their evidence, despite being duly informed via the Indonesian Embassy in Spain. At last, the judge had to terminate the case reluctantly and acquit me of the charges, and nullify my extradition request from Interpol.
It is critical to note here that the Indonesian authorities had no intention to prosecute me for the murder in a fair and transparent manner in open trial. They charged, convicted and sentenced me for the capital crime of murder in an incredible 8-day period in my absence. I became aware of the murder charge against me and conviction in it in Indonesia 4 months after the sentencing was completed when the Spanish police arrested me responding to Interpol’s request. During the period after my deportation to Spain, I was working legally and was completely reachable by the Spanish authority. Yet, the Indonesian authorities made absolutely no effort to inform me of the murder charges via the Spanish authority. Neither did they seek Interpol’s help for my arrest for standing trial for the murder charges. They contacted Interpol for my arrest and extradition only after the super-fast express trial was completed in 8 days and I was condemned and sentenced. So, the Indonesian authority’s sole intention for me is to serve the punishment, not face fair trial for charges. For that very reason, the Indonesian authorities never came to attend my extradition hearing at the Spanish High Court with their evidence of my incrimination in the murder. Neither did the Indonesian authorities appealed against the Spanish High Court’s decision to refuse my extradition.
The Indonesian authorities grotesquely violated “The international covenant on civil and political rights” by trying me in absentia without making any effort to inform me of charges despite I was completely reachable all the time, by not giving me absolutely any chance to defend myself, and by not presuming me innocent until proven guilty in fair hearing in a open court. Not a single physical proof was provided against me, such as fingerprint or DNA proofs. They did all this with the hidden motives of wanting to kill me for my criticisms on Islam.
I am now completely baffled about the ground on which the Spanish Interior Ministry suddenly decided to approve my extradition to Indonesia, when the Spanish High Court has already refused the extradition request. At this moment, my life is completely uncertain. I may be detained any time and extradited to Indonesia, where I will either serve the 20-year imprisonment or I may even suffer extrajudicial murder.
It must be noted that in Indonesia, minority Christians are frequently attacked and murdered by Muslim thugs just for believing in a different religion. Even members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim sect are attacked and murdered, just for not believing in the mainstream Sunni Islam. And in June 2012, an Indonesian named Alexander Aan was sentenced to two-and-a-half years of imprisonment just for claiming to be an atheist and saying “There is no God” in Facebook posting. He said nothing against Islam. My critical work on Islam—despite being perfectly within my right to freedom of expression under the Western and UN Human Rights declarations—are infinitely more offensive to Muslims. Therefore, one should have no difficulty in understanding the severe consequence I face if extradited to Indonesia.
I criticize Muslims’ rioting, burning embassies, killing of innocent people in terrorist attacks in the name of Jihad and persecution of non-Muslims all over the Islamic world and expose the religious motivations behind those egregious actions, which are all perfectly within my right to freedom of expression in Spanish law. And when the government should have protected me as I didn’t do any crime, they are preparing to hand me over to Indonesia, where I face execution by Islamic fanatics.
I have proven my innocence repeatedly in the Spanish court. And the Indonesian authorities have shown no interest in giving me a fair trial, but to punish me for my criticism of Islam by forging a false murder charge against me. The way I was tried and convicted by the Indonesian authorities within 8 days for a capital crime represents the grotesque violation of concept of fair trial. Yet, the Spanish government has decided to cooperate with the Indonesian authorities for me to serve the punishment levied against me in absentia in a most farcical trial. The gravest miscarriage of justice has started becoming acceptable to the governments of western nations and I may be the first victim of it for committing absolutely no crime other than criticizing Islam.
The Muslims of Spain dream of turning Spain into "Al Andalus" of days of 750 years long imperialist Islamic occupation of Spain. The countdown to achieving that dream may have just started.
Similarly, as things stand now, countdown to my life may have begun. But one thing is for sure, the Spanish Interior Ministry may get rid of me, even achieve my physical elimination, but the threats of Islamic radicalism and terrorism are here to stay and haunt western nations. And I would hope that even if I get hurt or killed—thanks to the Spanish government—the battle against Islamic radicalism and Jihadi terrorism will go on until humanity is rid of the lasting threats of Islam.
Before concluding, let me make it clear that I’m ready to stand trial for my actions, wherever open, transparent and impartial justice is guaranteed. But the Indonesian authorities are seeking my extradition only to serve the punishment already levied against me in a ridiculous express trial in my absence when I was completely unaware that such charges and prosecution against me even existed.
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