A Christian sentenced to death in one blasphemy case in Pakistan was acquitted on Feb. 20 in another related to the same incident, with the judge citing double jeopardy, his attorney said.
Police illegally charged Noman Masih, 24, twice for the same incident, but he remains on death row for conviction in the first case, said attorney Lazar Allah Rakha.
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Masih was charged by police in two cities, Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur, as officers acted with a mala fide intent to punish him in two blasphemy cases registered within three days.
‘At all costs’
“The police also tried to prosecute him in an anti-terrorism court, although the case did not fall under terrorism,” Rakha said. “I resisted their attempt and successfully argued that the case be heard by the sessions court. The police’s prejudicial attitude towards Masih insinuates that someone wanted to see him suffer at all costs.”
A judge in the Bahawalpur case handed Masih the death sentence in May 2023 after a four-year trial, though prosecutors failed to provide any evidence against him, Rakha said.
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Morning Star News.
