The outrageous “blasphemy law” of Pakistan is meant to muzzle Catholics from ever expressing their Faith in public. Some of the accused are assassinated, or killed by mobs, others, like Asia Bibi, still languish in wretched prisons. One thousand Christians have been prosecuted under the blasphemy law since 1988. Then, too, there are many that are falsely accused by those who are envious of them, or hate them for some other reason, or just hate the Christian religion in general, such as the eight Protestants (including women and children) who were massacred for no other reason by a Moslem mob at Gojra (Punjab province) in August, 2009, with forty Christian homes being burnt to the ground. Just last week a 7th Day Adventist, Sajjad Masih, also from Gojra, was sentenced to life imprisonment for “blasphemy.” This official government sanctioned terrorism continues to victimize with impunity.
A few days ago, authorities in the same town of Gojra (Punjab province) charged two local Catholics, a male who is handicapped and his wife, a maid, of blasphemy after a local Muslim man complained that the two sent him blasphemous text messages, insulting the Prophet Mohammed. Police pressured the husband, who insisted he is innocent, to confess guilt. (Was there torture or threats, I wonder?) Under Pakistani law, the two could be sentenced to death if found guilty. See a large Catholic Marian poster and photos of victims plastered on a public Gojra wall and read the latest report from UCANews here and AsiaNews here.
