Tag: Blasphemy

Pakistan Christian still on death row, five years after his ‘blasphemy’ sparked Joseph Colony attack

March 15, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Faisalabad, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Pakistan, Sahiwal, Sawan Masih

At the fifth anniversary of the arson attack on a Christian neighbourhood in the Pakistani city of Lahore, the mother of the Christian man convicted of blaspheming against Islam – and so provoking the attack – says she still prays for his release. Sawan Masih*, a 30-year-old sanitation worker, was accused . . . Read More

Ahok ‘victim of cyber jihad against Indonesian government’

March 13, 2018 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Jakarta, Nahdlatul Ulama, Southeast Asia

Jakarta's governor arrives in court for his verdict and sentence in his blasphemy trial. Photo: Getty Images

The Christian former governor of Jakarta who was jailed for blasphemy may have been a victim of a sophisticated anti-government campaign of “fake news” and malicious bots. Indonesian police believe they have uncovered a clandestine “fake news” operation designed to destabilise the government and corrupt the political process, the UK’s . . . Read More

Pakistan Senate seeks same sentences for blasphemy offenders and those who falsely accuse

March 13, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Elections, Human rights, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Marriage, Pakistan, Patras Masih, Sajid Masih, Sharia, Women

In November there were widespread anti-blasphemy protests in Islamabad and other cities in reaction to proposed changes to an election law. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Pakistan’s Senate Special Committee on Human Rights has recommended that those who falsely accuse someone of blasphemy should receive the same punishment as those convicted of blasphemy. The Committee also said registration of a blasphemy case should include a minimum of two witnesses who support the charges. Right-wing political parties . . . Read More

Pakistan court orders citizens to declare religion

March 13, 2018 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamic extremism, Minorities, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan

Religious minorities in Pakistan have to declare their religion when applying for identification papers or for government jobs making them "even more vulnerable" activists say. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Pakistan’s citizens must now declare their religion when applying for identity documents, or if they want to work in government or register to vote, Islamabad’s High Court ruled on Friday (9 March). Applicants who disguise their true religion defy the constitution and betray the state, the judge said. Their true . . . Read More

Pakistan: Christian family attacked for helping build church wall

March 6, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Churches, Faisalabad, Islamic extremism, Pakistan, Sahiwal, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, Women

Five members of a Christian family in northeast Pakistan were attacked and injured as they helped to build a boundary wall around their church on Sunday, 4 March. The pastor of the Pakistan Gospel Assemblies church in Yousufwala village, on the outskirts of the Punjabi city of Sahiwal, told World . . . Read More

Religious-freedom violations in education ‘under-reported’

March 1, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Blasphemy, Children, Education, Iran, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Religious freedom

A school compound in East Africa. Many children face bias in education, discrimination and abuse because of their religion or the beliefs of their parents. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A new report highlights the ways in which schoolchildren and their families experience religious discrimination and calls for it to end. The report, ‘Discrimination on the Basis of Religion or Belief in Education’, by advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), explores violations of religious freedom in schools in Myanmar, Iran, . . . Read More

Pakistan blasphemy suspect says he jumped from fourth floor to escape forced sex act

February 26, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Lahore, Pakistan, Patras Masih, Police, Sajid Masih, Torture

A suspect in a blasphemy case in Lahore, Pakistan, claims he was tortured by police and jumped from a fourth floor window to avoid being forced by officers to perform oral sex on his cousin, who is also under investigation. Sajid Masih, 24, suffered multiple fractures after jumping on Friday, . . . Read More

Indonesia: Ahok’s appeal ‘last chance’ to clear name

February 26, 2018 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Indonesia, Jakarta, Java

appeal hearing is taking place on Monday (26 February). (Photo: Agoes Rudianto /Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A first appeal hearing in the blasphemy case of the Christian former governor of Jakarta was held today (26 February) in what could prove his only chance to challenge the verdict. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as “Ahok”, has asked the Supreme Court for a review of the two-year prison . . . Read More

Indonesia: Ahok asks Supreme Court to review his blasphemy sentence

February 21, 2018 Indonesia Ahok, Blasphemy, Indonesia, Islamic Defenders Front, Java

Jakarta’s former governor 'Ahok' is scheduled to be released from prison on 24 January. (Photo: Open Doors International)

The Christian former Governor of Jakarta has appealed his blasphemy conviction to Indonesia’s Supreme Court A court spokesman said on 20 February that it had received a request for judicial review from Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who was sentenced in May 2017 in connection with a video in which he . . . Read More

Pakistan: 800 Christian families flee neighbourhood after blasphemy accusation

February 20, 2018 Pakistan Blasphemy, Lahore, Nabeel Masih, Pakistan, Pashtun, Patras Masih

Several Islamic clerics and a few Christian leaders held a press conference at a police station in Lahore, Pakistan, this evening (20 February) to send a message to at least 800 families who fled a Christian neighbourhood in the city after a 20-year-old Christian man was accused of posting blasphemous content on Facebook, . . . Read More

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