Christian man tortured by police in Pakistan, held in custody

A Christian man in Pakistan was tortured by police into confessing to a false allegation of blasphemy, and then illegally held in custody for two months before being presented to a judge, Morning Star News reports. Salamat Mansha Masih was arrested, tortured, and detained in Lahore after Muslims heard him reading the Bible in a park on February 13.

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Pakistan persecution: Christian nurses jailed for violating blasphemy law

Two Christian nurses in Pakistan have been jailed for violating blasphemy laws by following a hospital supervisor’s instructions to clean up an area covered with old hangings and stickers, including a half-torn old sticker with a verse from the Koran on it, International Christian Concern reports. Rights groups have said Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws are frequently abused; Pakistan ranks 5th on the Open Doors Watch List of countries where Christians are persecuted.

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Pakistan: High Court changes life sentence to death penalty for Seventh Day Adventist accused of blasphemy

The High Court in Lahore, Pakistan has changed a life sentence to the death penalty in the case of a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church charged with sending a blasphemous text message in 2011, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Giving its decision on March 10, the High Court ruled in favor of Islamist group Khatam-e-Nabuwwat Forum, which argued that 36-year-old Sajjad Masih should be sentenced to death rather than life imprisonment for his transgression.

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