06 July 2012

In Pakistan, Blasphemy Laws Often Enforced by Mob

In many countries, a person talking to himself and ranting against God might well be offered mental health services; in Pakistan, he is handed a death sentence.

In the latest example of vigilante justice that has outraged human rights activists both here and abroad, an unidentified man accused of blasphemy was forcibly dragged from a police station in Punjab Province earlier this week, in an attack that left his beaten and burned body smoldering in a heap on a public street, according to local police.

The man, reported to be mentally ill and homeless, was picked up by police following allegations that he had burned a copy of the Quran. Pakistan's blasphemy laws make it a crime punishable by death to insult Islam or the Prophet Mohammad or to defile the Quran. [NorthJersey.com] Read more