Mehdi Foundation International

At last, the 62 members of the Mehdi Foundation International (MFI), have been freed. They had been detained in Tihar Jail, New Delhi, since April 23, 2007, after they staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, burning the Pakistani flag, their passports and visa papers. The number had increased to 67, with births to detainees after they were arrested.

I had confirmation from the UNHCR this morning that the detainees had been accepted as refugees by Canada and the US. These people's only crime was to follow a set of religious beliefs that were unacceptable in Pakistan, which is slowly becoming a state in which only Sunni Muslims will feel at home.