LONDON: The Pakistani man wrongly arrested for the Berlin truck attack said on Friday that he was concerned about his family’s safety back home following his arrest as they were receiving threatening phone calls.

Naveed Baloch, an asylum seeker from Balochistan, said soon after he left a friend’s house and was crossing a street, he saw a police car approaching fast and so he picked up his pace. He was arrested and taken to a police station, where he was undressed and photographed, he added.

“When I resisted, they started slapping me,” said the 24-year-old, who has been living in a secret location provided by police since his release for his safety.

Baloch said he struggled to communicate because no translator was available who could speak Balochi.

“I calmly told them I cannot drive at all. Neither can I even start a vehicle,” he said.

Baloch, a shepherd by profession, said members of his family in Mand received threatening phone calls following his arrest.

“Now they all know I fled to Germany, fearful of my life and that I am claiming asylum here. It leaves my family very vulnerable and there’s nothing I can do to protect them,” he said.

Published in Dawn December 31st, 2016