From Compass Direct
A Pakistani court in Faisalabad has sentenced a mentally handicapped Christian to life in prison, ruling the 26-year-old man guilty of blasphemy against the Quran, the holy book of Islam. Despite medical evidence of the defendant's manic-depressive condition, Shahbaz Masih was sentenced to 25 years in prison — the equivalent of a life sentence under Pakistani law — by Judge Mohammed Shahid Rafique of the Faisalabad Additional Sessions Court on September 25. More than 60 Muslim clerics and their supporters, many of them armed, were present in the court when the judge announced his verdict. Afterward the crowd surged outside the courthouse, shouting slogans praising the judge and Islamic law, and denouncing other religions.
Masih had been accused by local Muslim cleric Qari Mohammed Rafiq of tearing up some leaflets containing verses from the Quran and scattering them at the shrine where a revered Muslim holy man was buried near Faisalabad. Reportedly Masih was wearing a cross necklace at the time of the incident. In the police report filed by investigating officer Mohammed Sajah Hussein, the Muslim officer declared that Masih's alleged conduct had "hurt his religious sentiments." |