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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistani Christian Acquitted of Blasphemy |
| 2007-09-24 |
| FromCompass Direct A Pakistani judge this morning [September 17] unexpectedly cleared a Christian teenager of charges that he had ripped up pages containing verses from the Quran .... Judge Muhammad Abdul Sattar acquitted Shahid Masih, 18, at a lower court hearing in Faisalabad after prosecution witnesses changed their original testimonies. .... Under oath, Mohammad Younis and Khalid Mehmood today dropped claims that Masih’s co-defendant told them he had seen Masih tear pages from a tafseer, a book explaining Quranic verses. Muslim teenager Muhammad Ghaffar had allegedly witnessed the act while he and Masih supposedly stole books from a medical clinic in Madina Town district of Faisalabad on September 10, 2006. “There were about 100 fanatics inside and outside the courtroom who were astonished when their own witnesses claimed that the accused were innocent,” defense lawyer Khalil Tahir said. “They were very, very angry.” Tahir said he declined to cross-examine the witnesses, immediately filing a written petition to drop the case based on the new testimonies. After hearing the lawyer’s arguments, Judge Sattar deliberated for two minutes before clearing Ghaffar and Masih of both theft and desecration of the Quran. Masih could have faced a life-imprisonment if found guilty of “blasphemy.” Tahir said that both Judge Sattar and the witnesses practically fled the court after the verdict was announced. .... Lawyer Tahir said that he does not plan to open a case against the prosecution witnesses for falsely accusing Masih and Ghaffar. “We could open a case against them, but I think it would create more harm, both for me and [Masih’s] family,” Tahir commented. The false accusations have already taken their toll on Masih’s family. A mob of Muslim fanatics attacked Masih’s home in September 2006 after rumors of his alleged desecration of the Quran spread throughout the neighborhood. Police quickly arrived on the scene and arrested Masih, sparing his life, Tahir said. Upon visiting Masih in jail, however, Tahir found that the Christian teenager had been beaten by sub-inspector Muhammad Saffdar. Masih was able to post bail in January, but he was forced to live separately from his parents and 12 siblings for fear of attacks by extremists. The teenager plans to stay in hiding for several months before once again looking for work. Tahir’s own wife and three sons have periodically been forced into hiding due to threats from Muslim extremists. The Christian is one of only a few lawyers in Pakistan’s third largest city willing to represent people accused of “blasphemy.” |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #1 A very, very brave and ununusually honest Muslim judge (fawta on him in...). But notice that the people who slandered the Christain will go free out of fear of retaliation. Muslim tolerance at work. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-09-24 11:57 |