Pakistan (MNN) — Another young Christian is sentenced to death under Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws.
The 27-year-old believer allegedly shared a photo of a damaged Quran on TikTok following widespread attacks on the Christian community last August. Even though the young man did not create the image, the court said it was blasphemous and worthy of a death sentence.
Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “The blasphemy laws are unjust. There’s a presumption of guilt instead of a presumption of innocence.”
Believers accused of blasphemy often face mob justice before they ever step into a courtroom. More about that here. Such was the case of an elderly Christian businessman beaten to death by a mob in May.
“Thankfully, the police arrested members of the mob and were trying to hold them accountable. But then you have rallies in support of more vigilante violence against religious minorities,” Nettleton says.
“There needs to be some kind of a change to these blasphemy laws and the way they’re enforced, and a return to the rule of law instead of the rule of the mob.”
At least 103 people have been charged with blasphemy between January and June of this year, according to the Pakistan-based Center for Social Justice (CSJ).
Ask the Lord to strengthen and encourage persecuted believers in Pakistan. Find more ways to help here.
Nettleton says, “We can’t go to them. We can’t necessarily comfort” the individual believers and families mentioned above, but “we can certainly pray for them, and for other Christians in Pakistan, who live constantly under this oppression and second-class citizenship status.”
Header image is a representative photo courtesy of visuals/Unsplash.
