Pakistan: Christian road sweeper sentenced to death for blasphemy

Sawan Masih

A Christian road sweeper from Lahore, Pakistan, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy. Judges passed sentence on Sawan Masih in a hearing held in private on Thursday, due to the 'sensitive nature¹ of the case. They also fined him 200,000 Rupees (about £1,200).

Father-of-three Sawan is from Joseph Colony in the Badami Bagh area of Lahore. He was arrested after being accused of blasphemy following a row over property with a Muslim friend in March 2013.

Mosque loudspeakers broadcast the blasphemy allegation, and the accusations sparked two days of rioting in his Christian neighbourhood. A 3,000-strong mob set fire to more than 200 homes in Pakistan's second largest city. The police were accused of standing by while Christian houses burned. According to press reports, the authorities defended their refusal to confront the rioters on the grounds that confrontation could have spread the violence to other areas.

Hundreds of Christians across Pakistan took to the streets to demand greater protection in the aftermath of the riots.

Release partners supporting Sawan and his family say they are shocked by the verdict ­ which was handed down inside the jail where Sawan is being held. They say the charges are false and will appeal to the High Court.

According to Sawan, the accusation of blasphemy followed a heated dispute over property. Release partners say the subsequent attacks against the Christian colony were an attempted land-grab ­ to drive out the community to make way for a factory.

"All too often in Pakistan rivals will cry blasphemy to settle scores and enact revenge," says Release International Chief Executive Paul Robinson. "It leads to death threats, murder and riots. In the interests of justice Pakistan must repeal these blasphemy laws.

"In reality the death sentence may not be carried out but it can mean that an accused person ends up behind bars for years. Even if their conviction is eventually overturned on appeal the accused are still vulnerable to attacks by vigilantes."

According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom Pakistan is the world¹s number one enforcer of blasphemy laws. 14 are on death row for blasphemy, while 19 others are serving life sentences. A disproportionate number of the accused are from the country¹s Christian minority.

"The worry is that the climate in Pakistan is taking a turn for the worse for Christians," says Release¹s Paul Robinson. "The Federal Sharia court recently called for a mandatory death penalty for those found guilty of blasphemy. This would be a giant leap backwards for Pakistan."

Meanwhile, the latest hearing in the appeal of Asia Bibi against her own death sentence for blasphemy¹ took place yesterday at Lahore High Court. It lasted just ten minutes due to the failure of the prosecution lawyer to attend. The next hearing has been scheduled for April 14. Asia Bibi is the first woman in the country to be sentenced to death for blasphemy. Through its international network of missions Release International serves persecuted Christians in more than 30 countries around the world, by supporting pastors and Christian prisoners and their families, supplying Christian literature and Bibles and working for justice.

For more information see: www.releaseinternational.org