by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - A Christian man has been sentenced to death in Punjab Province, Pakistan for sharing allegedly hateful content against Muslims on TikTok, The Hindu reports.
Ehsan Shan was sentenced to death by a court in the city of Sahiwal in Punjab province on June 29, The Hindu reports. The court found he had desecrated the Quran by posting pictures of pages that were allegedly torn out of it and thrown on the ground by two Christian men in the city of Jaranwala, Punjab Province, in August last year.
Last year’s alleged desecration of the Quran sparked a massive riot in Jaranwala during which a mob of more than 100 Muslims burned churches and the homes of dozens of Christians in anger at the alleged desecration of their holy book.
Shan received the death penalty although he was not involved in the original incident. His lawyer Khurram Shahzad told The Hindu on July 1 that he would appeal the sentence.
“The devastating attack on the Christian community in Jaranwala in August 2023 was a sobering reminder of the hostile environment facing many believers in Pakistan,” the Open Doors international Christian advocacy organization explains in a website report.
“The attack on more than 20 churches and almost 100 homes was in response to allegations that two believers had desecrated the Quran.”
“Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws are often used to target minority groups, but Christians are disproportionately affected. Indeed, roughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations target Christians, who only make up 1.8% of the population,” Open Doors noted.
Ruled by a harsh Islamic regime that has implemented draconian anti-blasphemy laws, Pakistan ranks 7 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.