On 30 August a Pakistani Christian was arrested on charges of blasphemy in Nowshera (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). It is the 42nd case of its kind recorded in August in the country, a real record according to the Naya Daur (New Era) website.
David Masih’s arrest occurred three days after a video – which went viral – was posted on social media showing pages of the Koran being thrown down a drain. Reported to the police by some Muslim inhabitants of his neighbourhood, he allegedly confessed to having torn the pages “to practice witchcraft.”
The Pakistani Penal Code states that “anyone who intentionally defiles, damages or desecrates a copy of the Holy Quran or an extract from it, or uses it in a derogatory manner or for any illegal purpose, will be punished with life imprisonment.” In the case of defamation of the Prophet Muhammad (section 295-C), the death sentence is foreseen.
Since 1987, when Pakistan added sections 295-B and 295-C to the blasphemy law, the number of arrests for this crime has increased. According to the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference, between 1987 and 2018, 776 Muslims, 505 Ahmadis, 229 Christians and 30 Hindus were accused of blasphemy.