Pakistan: another Christian accused of blasphemy by burning Koran

Grieving women in Pakistan where Christians are being punished under Blasphemy Laws

The Archdiocese of Lahore in Pakistan has denied reports that a 24-year-old Catholic burned pages of the Koran. Allegations that Khuram Masih destroyed part of the Muslim holy book are baseless - and many media reports of the case are inaccurate - a spokesman for the archdiocese told Aid to the Church in Need.

The spokesman said Mr 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 owner of the house in which the couple was living put pressure on the young woman - blackmailing her after she would not convert to Islam, by threatening her with stoning for "living in sin". Told she would be killed if she did not cooperate, Mr Masih's Hindu girlfriend was forced to call the police and accuse him of burning pages from the Qur'an to cook tea over the fire.

When the police failed to find Mr Masih at home, they arrested his nephew. Khuram Masih then went to the police station in order to find out what was going on, but by that time a mob had gathered in front of the station wanting to set fire to the building and kill him. At present, the young man is in jail awaiting his trial.

While other versions of Khuram Masih's arrest have been published by numerous media outlets, in which he is accused of burning the pages when disposing of rubbish from a building job, the diocese's spokesman dismissed these as inaccurate.

A Pakistani Muslim attorney who defends victims against accusations of blasphemy, but whose name cannot because of fears of attack, told Aid to the Church in Need earlier this month that 95 percent of all blasphemy allegations are false, and made with the intention of harming or taking revenge on someone. Read more on this story

Under Pakistan's blasphemy law, which was intorduced in 1986, insulting the Qur'an can be punished by life imprisonment, and insulting the Prophet Mohammed is punishable by death.

According to the Catholic Church's Commission for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Church in Pakistan, which documents these cases, 38 persons, including 14 Christians, were accused of blasphemy last year.

Aid to the Church in Need supports the work of the Commission, which among other things finances legal representation for indigent defendants.

Source ACN