Another Pakistani Christian falsely accused of blasphemy

(December 20, 2011) Another Christian in Pakistan has been accused of blasphemy, an allegation the Catholic Church says is false. According to the Archdiocese of Lahore, the accusation that Khuram Masih a 24-year-old Catholic burned pages of the Koran is baseless. A spokesman of the archdiocese told the group Aid to the Church in Need many media reports of the case are inaccurate. Masih was arrested on 6 December, having been falsely accused by his Hindu girlfriend, who he had been living with “out of wedlock”, as his parents strongly objected to the wedding. According to the archdiocese, the family of the Muslim landlord of the house in which the couple was living, blackmailed the young woman by threatening her with stoning to death for “living in sin”. The Hindu woman was forced to call the police and accuse her lover of burning pages from the Qur’an to cook tea over the fire. At present, the young man is in jail awaiting his trial. According to a Muslim lawyer who for his safety prefers to remain anonymous for defending blasphemy victims, 95 percent of all blasphemy allegations are false, and made with the intention of harming or taking revenge on someone. According to Pakistan’s 1986 blasphemy laws, insulting the Qur’an can be punished by life imprisonment, and insulting the Prophet Mohammed is punishable by death. Church sources say 38 persons had been accused of blasphemy last year, including 14 Christians.