Christian Post
An 18-year-old Christian in Pakistan has been arrested and imprisoned for allegedly burning pages of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, and could potentially face the death penalty under the country's strict blasphemy laws.
Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that police in Jam Kayk Chattha village in central Punjab province arrested Asif Massih on the night of August 12 on blasphemy charges.
Local police official Pervaiz Iqbal told AFP news agency: "When the police took the suspect into custody and brought him to a police check-post, a crowd of around 200 men gathered outside ... demanding the culprit be handed over to them."
"We then secretly moved the culprit to the police station in Wazirabad where he was interrogated and confessed to his crime."
Massih allegedly tore off pages of the Quran outside a shrine, which under section 295-B of Pakistan's penal code, could mean the death penalty.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has said that there are 40 people on death row or serving life sentences for blasphemy in Pakistan.
USCIRF ranked Pakistan among the top five countries with the strictest blashpemy laws in the world in a report last week, but warned that such laws are often used to target religious minorities.
"Advocates for blasphemy laws may argue that they are needed in order to protect religious freedom, but these laws do no such thing. Blasphemy laws are wrong in principle, and they often invite abuse and lead to assaults, murders, and mob attacks. Wherever they exist, they should be repealed," USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark wrote.Al Jazeera noted that since 1990, at least 71 people in Pakistan have been killed by hardline vigilantes and mobs that have taken blasphemy laws into their own hands.
The cases included one instance in November 2014, when a Christian couple was burned to death by a mob after they were accused of having desecrated the Quran, though the claim was later proven to be false.
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