Extremists storm mosque in historic Poitiers

October 21, 2012

Paris, October 21: A group of extremists has stormed an unfinished mosque in the historic city of Poitiers in western France in a display of animosity toward Islam.

Seventy-three protesters travelled from all over France to the city to take part in the anti-Islam demonstration on Saturday.

They gathered at the mosque before dawn, and disrupted a prayer, chanting and waving banners protesting against the construction of mosques and the immigration of Muslims.

They also climbed onto the roof of the mosque and unfurled their banners.

"We are thunderstruck… these are people who are stuck in the year 732, and who don't see that the world has changed,” local Muslim leader and imam Boubaker al-Hadj Amor said, referring to the Battle of Tours, which occurred in Poitiers in that year, with Charles Martel leading the Christian army in a victory that halted the Muslims' furthest advance into Europe.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault “firmly” condemned the action as a “provocation that reveals an unacceptable religious hatred.”

Interior Minister Manuel Valls also condemned the "hateful and inadmissible provocation" and the "questionable confusion" of the group.

The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism called the occupation a “demonstration of hate.”

According to the regional prefect, Yves Dassonville, the protesters dispersed when police arrived and detained four people, who said they were the organizers, for questioning.

The police started investigating “an unauthorized demonstration, incitement to racial hatred, participation in a gathering with a view to carrying out joint damage.”

Charges of theft are also probable as they also removed ten of the mosque's carpets and took them to the roof, where they were damaged by rain.

“We were planning to stay longer, but as we had no intention whatsoever of a physical confrontation, we are leaving with the police in a good mood without an unhappy ending,” a spokesman for the demonstrators said.

Finally, the extremists were compelled to evacuate the mosque at 1:00 p.m.

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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