Islamic Republic of Pakistan: Christian gets life
in prison after confessing under torture that
he insulted Muhammad
These blasphemy cases are transparent fabrications. Who in his right mind would insult Muhammad publicly in Pakistan today? Everyone knows what the result would be. And in this case, “the phone on which the Facebook comment was made had been stolen from him in 2019.”
The persecution of Fanson Shahid, however, doesn’t fit the media narrative, and those who dare to report on it at all will be dismissed as “Islamophobes,” and the world will go on its merry way, while Fanson Shahid spends the rest of his life behind bars for nothing.
Christian Sentenced to Life in Prison under Blasphemy Law
Morning Star News, February 19, 2024:
LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily International–Morning Star News) – A judge sentenced a Christian to life in prison under Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes for a social media message that relatives say was posted using a phone stolen from him, sources said.
Fanson Shahid, 56, had been beaten in his home in Lahore when arrested in March 2022 and tortured into confessing after he was accused of posting a derogatory remark about the prophet of Islam in a comment on a post that another Christian had shared, his wife said.
The phone on which the Facebook comment was made had been stolen from him in 2019, she said.
Justice Zafar Yab Chadhar of the Additional Sessions Court Gujranwala District, Punjab Province, handed down the sentence on Jan. 24, but the family did not disclose it until now.
“We were praying for Shahid’s acquittal because he’s innocent, but the verdict has shattered our hopes for justice,” his sister, Sonia Shahid, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Investigators found Fanson Shahid’s Facebook account was logged on in the new phone they recovered in 2022 and presented that as evidence that he had made the comment. His wife, Safia Shahid, said at that time, “We believe that the lost phone was misused by someone to post the blasphemous comment, because my husband did not use a passcode for its security, and his Facebook account was also logged in.”
Fanson Shahid was convicted under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes, which calls for a mandatory death sentence for derogatory comments about Muhammad, but Chadhar cited as a “mitigating circumstance” that the comment was posted “only once.”
“If a single doubt or ground is available creating reasonable doubt in the mind of the court/judge to award even death penalty or life imprisonment, it would be sufficient circumstance to adopt alternative course by awarding life imprisonment instead of death sentence,” Chadhar wrote in the verdict.
He also handed Fanson Shahid a fine of 100,000 rupees (USD 358). Shahid was also convicted under Section 295-A, which prohibits hurting religious sentiments, and sentenced to three years in prison….
At Least 166 Christians Arrested in Iran Last Year
for Their Faith
Iran Wire, February 19, 2024:
Christian rights organizations have documented a significant increase in the number of arrests of Christians in Iran last year, raising concerns about religious freedom in the country.
According to Article 18’s annual report published on January 19, at least 166 Christians were arrested across the country in 2023, compared to 134 the previous year.
Arrests came in waves in 2023, with “just a handful reported prior to June, then over 100 within the next three months, before a further rash of arrests at Christmas,” says the report, which was released in collaboration with Open Doors, CSW and Middle East Concern.
“However, very few of those arrested agreed to publicise their cases, leading to an increasing number of faceless victims.”
“By the end of 2023, at least 17 of the Christians arrested during the summer had received prison sentences of between three months and five years, or non-custodial punishments such as fines, flogging, and in one case the community-service of digging graves,” the report says….
At least 15 Catholic worshippers killed in attack during a service in Burkina Faso
by Chinedu Asadu, Associated Press, February 25, 2024:
ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 15 Catholic worshippers were killed in a Burkina Faso village on Sunday when gunmen attacked a community as they gathered for prayers in the country’s conflict-hit northern region, church officials said.
The violence in the village of Essakane was a “terrorist attack” that left 12 of the Catholic faithful dead at the scene, while three others died later as they were being treated for their wounds, according to a statement issued by Abbot Jean-Pierre Sawadogo, vicar-general of the Catholic Diocese of Dori, where the attack happened.
No further details were provided about the attack, which no group claimed responsibility for. But suspicion fell on jihadis who have frequently attacked remote communities and security forces, especially in the northern region….
About half of Burkina Faso is outside government control as jihadi groups have ravaged the country for years. Fighters have killed thousands and displaced more than 2 million people, further threatening the stability of the country that had two coups in 2022….
Islamic Cleric Asks Muslims To Attack
President Tinubu’s Wife For Being A Christian
by Ikenna Ngere, Naija News, February 22, 2024 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
An Islamic cleric has stated that Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, should be condemned to death for her affiliation with the church.
The cleric’s comments in a viral video criticized the Muslim/Muslim ticket that secured President Bola Tinubu’s election victory as fraudulent, and he controversially stated that Oluremi Tinubu should be condemned to death for her role as a pastor.
According to SaharaReporters, the unidentified cleric insisted that the president’s wife, deemed an infidel, ought to be executed according to Quranic law, although he failed to cite relevant Quranic passages.
In the video, the cleric could be heard speaking in the Hausa language, saying, “Now, Tinubu, his wife, is an infidel (Christian). As an infidel, she is a leader among the infidels.
“God’s judgement says she must be killed. She’s a pastor… a leader of infidels (Christians); Allah says they must be killed…”…
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