Talking to Pakistan Today, Masih’s counsel Lazar Allah Rakha said, “Today, a great justice has been served. Masih was innocent and everyone knew. An innocent man was saved from a terrible fate.”
Source/Credit: Pakistan Today
By Asher John / Aima Khosa | January 29, 2013
LAHORE - In a rare decision by a local court, Barkat Masih, a 56-year-old Christian accused of blasphemy was acquitted on Monday, Pakistan Today has learnt.
According to details, Masih, a Christian convert from Hinduism, had been accused of blasphemy in his hometown Khairpur in 2011.
A sweeper by profession, he had been accused of blasphemy when he refused to hand over duplicate keys of a shrine where he used to work to Muhammad Saleem and Muhammad Shoaib. They threatened him of “dire consequences” and on October 1, 2011 filed an FIR against Masih under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Consequently, Masih was arrested and taken to Bahawalpur Central Jail where he was under trial for blasphemy over the last one year. Blasphemy in Pakistan is punishable by death. Masih was acquitted by Additional Sessions Judge Chaudhry Jamil Ahmad on Monday.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Masih’s counsel Lazar Allah Rakha said, “Today, a great justice has been served. Masih was innocent and everyone knew. An innocent man was saved from a terrible fate.”
Lazar said, “There was a lot of pressure from the opposing counsel Javed Pirzada and his associates about this case. He kept threatening me for supporting a man who had committed blasphemy.” Furthermore, he said that no security had been provided to him and Masih during the trial, adding that on the day the judgment was due, the court had been completely barricaded and no one was allowed in or outside the court without proper checking. [ ... more... ]
Read original post here: Christian falsely accused of blasphemy acquited
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