Amir Abdul Rehman Cheema (; 4 Dec 1977 – 3 May 2006) was a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

Islamist and

textile engineering Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...

student in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

who entered the offices of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

daily newspaper ''

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

'' on 20 March 2006 with a large knife and attempted to murder

Roger Köppel Roger Jürg Köppel (born 21 March 1965) is a Swiss journalist, entrepreneur, publicist and conservative politician, who served as a member of the National Council for the Swiss People's Party from 2015 to 2023. He is the editor-in-chief and pub ...

. Cheema was later arrested by building security guards. On 3 May 2006, while awaiting trial and in German

police custody Police custody may refer to: * Arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken in ...

, he was found dead in his cell. Pakistanis questioned the German's official version of the story and three MPs from a coalition of religious parties introduced a motion in

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

to discuss the student's death. While rumors spread after his death that he was tortured in the German prison, the German authorities produced a suicide note for Pakistan's foreign office. In the course of the investigation, the German judicial system concluded his death was a suicide.

Funeral

Initially Germany refused to hand over Amir's body but upon growing public sympathy in Pakistan, it was repatriated to the town of

Saroke Saroke, (Urdu ساروکی), also spelled as Saroki, is a town located on the southwest side of the city of Wazirabad in Gujranwala district of Punjab, Pakistan. It lies south of Khanki Head, southwest of Mansoorwali, east of Dharowal, and no ...

near the city of

Wazirabad Wazirabad (Urdu/) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative capital of Wazirabad District (formerly a Tehsil of Gujranwala District). Famous for its cutlery products, it is known as the city of cutlery and is also quite famous f ...

, in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

on Saturday 13 May 2006. At least 30,000 people gathered for his funeral, including Islamic party activists and religious students. The gathered crowd protested Amir's alleged torture, Farid Piracha, a lawmaker from the Jamaat-i-Islami party, saying "The killing of Cheema was a barbaric act. He was killed by torture".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheema, Amir Abdur Rehman 1977 births 2006 deaths People from Gujrat District Suicides in Germany Pakistani expatriates in Germany Pakistani people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in German detention Pakistani people imprisoned abroad People from Wazirabad Pakistani Islamists