Protests in Pakistan for Christians on Blasphemy Charges
Christians and Muslims protested last weekend in Lahore against the blasphemy laws in Pakistan, Premier Christianity UK reports.
The protests were mainly prompted by the case of Sajid and Patras Masih who are thought to have been tortured by authorities. Patras was arrested, accused of posting blasphemous images on facebook.
He is 17 years old says he lost his phone in these days and that someone else posted the comments. Him and his cousin Sajid were arrested and are said to have experienced abuse, causing Sajid to leap from a fourth floor window from which he survived.
According to the British Pakistani Christian Association, slogans in Lahore were chanted which translate as; “Give justice to Sajjid and Patras Masih!”; “Wake up Government of Pakistan!”; “Give equal rights to Pakistani Christians!”; “Pakistani Christians should be counted as equal citizens!”; and “We want a fair investigation for our brother Sajjid, What was the fault of Sajjid?”
Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said: “When I read accounts of horrific persecution in Pakistan, I am never surprised. Pakistan’s human rights record registers amongst the lowest performers in the world, largely because the Government of Pakistan is apathetic and religiously intolerant despite their rhetoric.
“Sajid and Patras were born social pariah’s for no other reason then their Christian faith which is legal but undermined through law and Government policy.”
There were also protests for the same men across the world.
