released after he was found "not guilty," a human rights group said Wednesday, April 12.
Voice Of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC) told BosNewsLife that Parvez Masih of the school in the area of the city of Lahore, had been arrested in April 2001 for allegedly blaspheming the Islamic Prohet Mohammed.
VOMC said Masih was detained "after some of his students asked him about Mohammed’s nine-year-old wife Aisha." The headmaster "simply mentioned her name and told them to find more information in the Koran," regarded as a holy book by Muslims.
"On April 1, 2001 he was arrested and accused of violating Law 295C, blaspheming Mohammed as a result of the testimonies of two of the boys. It is believed that a teacher of a rival high school was involved in an attempt to close the Christian school," added VOMC, which had organized an international letter campaign for his release. Pakistani officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
CONCERN REMAINS
VOMC, which did not give more details surrounding the circumstances of his release, stressed however it remained concerned over the plight of other Christian prisoners in the mainly Muslim Asian nation, amid reports of torture and abuse.
As an example, VOMC said it had learned that on April 7, Christian prisoners at the central jail in Sahiwal, Pakistan, were attacked as they "gathered for prayer and Bible study."
VOMC claimed that "Muslim prisoners passing by began to make derogatory comments when two of the jail staff approached."
PRISON STAFF
The two prison staff members allegedly joined in the attack of the four prisoners, who were identified as Chand Munawer, Ijaz Gulzar, Riaz Gulzar and Pervaiz Rehmat. "They stripped the Christians of their clothing and physically tortured them. The four were then locked up in solitary confinement," VOMC said.
It was unclear how VOMC had obtained the information, but the organization added that "this treatment is not unique to this prison." The organization claimed "there have been reports of similar abuse from Kasur and Lahore prisons."
VOMC said that "if Christian prisoners threaten to take action, they face increased persecution and so they generally remain silent." The reports have underscored international concerns over Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
NOT ENOUGH
The Pakistani government has said however it will crackdown on Muslim extremism. But human rights groups say not enough is being done to prevent attacks against the Christian minority.
Religious tensions come at a difficult time for the government, which is also dealing with the aftermath of a major suicide attack against Sunni Muslims celebrating the birth of the Prophet Mohammed in Karachi.
Pakistani police were reportedly probing the possible involvement of two suicide bombers in the blast which killed at least 57 people and injured over 100 others during a prayer meeting Tuesday, March 11. (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Pakistan).
