Acquitted Pakistani Christian Forced to Stay in Hiding
A Pakistani Christian remains in hiding one month after being cleared of blasphemy charges because extremists from the Islamic Religious Army have vowed to kill him.
A Pakistani Christian remains in hiding one month after being cleared of blasphemy charges, news agencies reported Monday. According to Compass News, Anwer Masih has been unable to be reunited with his wife and four children because extremists from the Islamic Religious Army have vowed to kill him.
Masih, now 32, was arrested on Nov. 30, 2003 after a neighbor who had converted from Christianity to Islam claimed that Masih had mocked his new beard and derided Islamic beliefs.
On Dec. 17, Judicial Magistrate Dr. Mohammed Anwar Gondal ruled that the accusations against Masih were based only on hearsay evidence and that the police report filed against him was nullified because it violated the criminal procedure code.
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According to Compass, Masih’s acquittal made him the first Pakistani Christian ever acquitted of such charges in Pakistan’s lower courts.
However, despite his acquittal, fanatic extremists from the banned but active Lashkar-e-Mujahideen (Islamic Religious Army) have reportedly vowed to kill Masih over his alleged remarks against the prophet Mohammed.
In a handwritten threat in Urdu sent to Masih after he was released on bail, the group said, “But we will never let you go. We will shoot you whenever we find you alone, since you blasphemed against our holy prophet. We have an earnest desire to kill you because you have infuriated us.”
The group warned the defendant that only heavy police security at his court hearings on Friday, Dec. 17, had prevented them from shooting him.
Masih now joins more than a dozen other Pakistani Christians who, despite their innocence, have been forced to apply for asylum abroad to live under new identities.
