CSW welcomes acquittal of three individuals charged with blasphemy

CSW welcomes the acquittal of two Christians and one Hindu who were charged under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

On 1 March 2024 the Anti-Terrorism court in Faisalabad acquitted two Christian brothers Rocky Masih and Raja Masih of blasphemy charges that were registered against them on 16 August 2023. This accusation against the brothers led to a mob attack in Jaranwala in which over 21 churches and several homes belonging to the Christian community were set on fire. The court ruled that both brothers had been framed by two other individuals who had a personal grudge with Rocky and Raja.

On the same day, Hindu school principal Notan Lal was acquitted on the appeal of a 25-year sentence that he received on 7 February 2022. Mr Lal was accused of blasphemy by a student in 2019. The accusation led to an outbreak of communal violence in the Ghotki district in Sindh province, during which shops owned by the Hindu community were looted, the school run by Mr Lal was ransacked, and a Hindu temple was attacked. In the judgement handed down by the Sukkur bench of the Sindh High Court, the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a case against Mr Lal.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘CSW welcomes the acquittal of Christian brothers Rocky and Raja Masih, and Hindu school Principal Notan Lal. Dispensing timely justice not only saves the lives of those who have been falsely accused of blasphemy but builds trust in the judicial system on treating every case with caution and care, regardless of which community the accused may belong to. We hope that such positive actions will continue in the future and the government may empower the courts to uphold the law and rightly dispense justice to victims of false accusations of blasphemy. We continue to call on the government to curb the misuse of the blasphemy laws with an aim to repeal these laws in the long term. We also call on the government to provide protections to lower courts and train the lower judiciary and police forces to practice extra caution when dealing and investigating cases of blasphemy in Pakistan.’