Pakistan

On 3 December Priyantha Diyawadana, a Sri Lankan Buddhist, was killed by a mob of hundreds in Punjab, Pakistan, after he was accused of desecrating posters bearing the name of the Prophet Mohammed. As is often the case with allegations of blasphemy in Pakistan, it later emerged that Mr Diyawadana had been falsely accused by colleagues at the factory where he worked, as a means of settling a personal score.

Nepal

Pastor Keshav Raj Acharya of the Abundant Harvest Church in Pokhara, Nepal, was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 20,000 rupees (approximately £124) by the Dolpa District Court on 30 November last year. His appeal is pending and he is currently out on bail. Pastor Keshav was initially arrested in March 2020 after a video in which he said that COVID-19 could be healed through prayer was uploaded to YouTube. He has denied uploading the video. The pastor was found guilty of proselytisation on 22 November 2021, and was immediately imprisoned.

Sudan

A Sudanese couple has been tried for adultery after the husband converted to Christianity. Nada Hamad Koko and Hamoda Teya Kaffi divorced in 2018 after Ms Koko’s family found out about her husband’s conversion; however in August 2021 Ms Koko decided to reunite with Mr Kaffi, stating that she had also converted to Christianity.

While Ms Koko is now a non-Muslim under law, and therefore legally permitted to marry another non-Muslim, the prosecutor deemed her conversion unacceptable grounds for reunification. The case has concerning parallels with that of Meriam Ibrahim, a Christian woman who faced trial for apostasy and adultery in 2014 and was sentenced to death plus 100 lashes. Thousands of you campaigned with us for her. Her sentence was eventually quashed and she was released.