23 February 2014

Pakistan's harsh blasphemy law under scrutiny

Mohammad Asghar, a 69-year-old paranoid schizophrenic, faces a death sentence in Pakistan for claiming to be the Prophet Mohammed in letters written to officials and police in 2010.

The retired British national of Pakistani descent is partially paralyzed after a stroke, but Pakistani courts have so far refused to acknowledge his physical and mental limitations.

The charges against Asghar recall the case of Rimsha Masih, a teenage girl who was alleged to have dumped torn and burnt pages of the Quran into a garbage heap nearly two years ago. Rimsha, who is Christian, was also arrested under Pakistan's blasphemy law, which stipulates a life sentence for defiling the Quran. [lohud.com] Read more