In Chains: Christian Persecution - 2019, Issue 1
News and analysis on persecuted Christians worldwide. This month's eMagazine includes issues by country, information on refugee issues, and resources available about persecuted Christians.
News and analysis on persecuted Christians worldwide. This month's eMagazine includes issues by country, information on refugee issues, and resources available about persecuted Christians.
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One Acquitted,<br />
Two Sentenced to<br />
Death<br />
Reprinted with permission: Morning Star News<br />
A judge in Pakistan has acquitted a <strong>Christian</strong><br />
accused of blasphemy one month after two<br />
<strong>Christian</strong>s were sentenced to death in an<br />
online blasphemy case, sources said.<br />
Kasur District Additional Sessions Judge Ijaz<br />
Ahmed Bosal dropped charges against<br />
Pervaiz Masih, 38, on Jan. 15 after<br />
prosecutors failed to submit any evidence<br />
against him.<br />
Masih’s attorney, Aneeqa Maria of The Voice<br />
Society, told Morning Star News the<br />
prosecution failed to present even one<br />
witness against him during the three-year<br />
trial in Punjab Province. The case against<br />
him was registered on Sept. 2, 2015.<br />
Maria said this was also one of the rare cases<br />
under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy<br />
laws in which the accused was granted bail<br />
just 20 days after the submission of the<br />
charge-sheet against him.<br />
“The acquittal is good news for Masih and<br />
his family, but they have suffered a lot in the<br />
last three years,” she said. “Even though<br />
Masih is free from the charges, I have serious<br />
concerns for his security. He has been<br />
declared a blasphemer by the local Muslims,<br />
and his life will always be at risk.”<br />
Masih’s family has said area Muslims<br />
entrapped him in a false blasphemy case<br />
after he obtained a sand contract in Garra<br />
village, near Mandi Usmanwala in Kasur<br />
District. Pervaiz Masih’s brother, Jamshed<br />
Masih, told Morning Star News at that time<br />
that the family was unaware of any<br />
accusations until the village mosque’s prayer<br />
leader began spreading word that Pervaiz<br />
Masih had blasphemed Islam’s prophet,<br />
Muhammad, during a discussion a few weeks<br />
prior.<br />
Jamshed Masih said that 300 to 400 Muslims<br />
of the village and surrounding areas shouted<br />
chants against the <strong>Christian</strong>s and vowed to<br />
avenge alleged “disrespect” of their prophet<br />
by burning his brother alive.<br />
Pervaiz Masih had obtained a contract for<br />
sand from a local dealer at a better price<br />
than that of his Muslim competitors, Haji<br />
Muhammad Jamshed and Haji Muhammad<br />
Bashir, and since then they had nurtured a
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