A Pakistan court docket has handed loss of life sentence to a Christian mechanic who was booked on costs of blasphemy almost 5 years in the past. Ashfaq Masih was arrested in June 2017 after he had an argument with a buyer over the fee for his providers, a report in The Friday Instances stated.
Pakistan is among the many nations the place blasphemy is punishable by loss of life.
In June 2017, Masih repaired the bike of an individual in Lahore and when he requested for fee, the client didn’t pay your entire quantity and sought a reduction on the premise that he was a non secular devotee.
Nonetheless, Masih refused, saying he believed in Christ. Quickly, a heated argument ensued between the duo and a crowd gathered. The gang accused Masih of “disrespecting” the Prophet Muhammad. Masih allegedly then stated that Jesus was supreme for Christians.
Quickly, police arrived on the spot, arrested Masih and registered a blasphemy case in opposition to him, the report stated. Since 2019, the case has witnessed a number of adjournments.
Masih, who’s survived by a spouse and daughter, was launched in 2019 on parole to attend his mom’s funeral. After Masih’s arrest, experiences stated his household fled Lahore.
Final month, a court docket in Bahawalpur had acquitted 5 members of a Hindu household who had been arrested a yr in the past on allegations of blasphemy.
Nonetheless, there have been many current cases the place individuals have been sentenced to loss of life underneath the blasphemy legislation.
In January this yr, a 26-year-old lady was sentenced to loss of life for posting “blasphemous materials” as her WhatsApp standing. She had despatched caricatures of Prophet Muhammed.
An area Lahore court docket sentenced a college principal to loss of life in September 2021 after she had claimed to be the “Prophet of Islam” in pamphlets she distributed.
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