Christian sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan
Arrest of Sawan Masih after drunken row last year prompted Muslim mob to burn hundreds of homes in eastern city of Lahore
1:22PM GMT 28 Mar 2014
A Christian man has been sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan, according to his lawyer, following an incident last year that prompted a Muslim mob to torch hundreds of homes.
It is the latest in a string of convictions prompting calls from religious minorities for the law to be reformed.
Naeem Shakir said his client, Sawan Masih, was convicted during a hearing held in jail for fear of violent protests.
Masih, a cleaner, was accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed during a conversation with a Muslim friend in the eastern city of Lahore. Within hours, about 3000 protesters had set light to Christian homes and churches in an area known as Joseph Colony.
His supporters have always claimed the incident was fabricated as part of a plot to seize land.
“They hatched a conspiracy to push out the residents of the colony,” said Masih in a statement after sentence was passed. “They contrived a case and got it filed by a person who was close to me. I am innocent.”
At the time police said Masih had been drinking with his friend and the pair got into a heated row.
Although Pakistan has not carried out capital punishment for blasphemy, violent mobs and extremists have. At least one judge has been murdered for appearing to be too lenient in such cases.
Xavier William, president of the Christian pressure group Life for All Pakistan, said the episode marked a clear example of intolerance and misuse of the laws.
"In Pakistan even being accused of blasphemy is equivalent to being sentenced,” he said.
"The blasphemy laws in Pakistan are used to settle personal vendettas.”
The police arrested 83 suspects following the rampage through the Christian colony, including the man who brought the complaint against Masih, but so far none have been convicted.
Amnesty International called for Masih to be released and for those responsible for attacking Christian homes to be tried.
"Failure to do so will effectively send the message that anyone can commit outrageous abuses and excuse them as defence of religious sentiments," said David Griffiths, Amnesty International's deputy Asia Pacific director.
An elderly British man is among the several dozen currently being held for blasphemy offences.
Muhammad Asghar, 70, was sentenced to death after being arrested in 2010 for writing letters claiming to be a prophet. His relatives say he has a history of paranoid schizophrenia and his lawyers have launched an appeal.
Efforts to reform the British-era colonial laws – toughened in the 1980s with Sharia penalties – have foundered.
Such is the febrile atmosphere that few dare to question the laws.
In 2011, Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab, was shot dead by one of his own bodyguards for taking up the case of a Christian woman sentenced to death.
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