A Pakistani judge surprised all parties involved in the case when he dismissed a blasphemy case where a Christian man was accused of insulting Islam.
The decision came on January 28 in a court in Punjab province, surprising the accused, Barkat Masih, his lawyer and religious rights activists. It came just two months after another judge dismissed a similar case against a teenage girl that resulted in international criticism of Pakistan's anti-blasphemy laws.
Barkat Masih was arrested in October 2011 on charges brought against him by two men who accused him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. After a judge initially refused to take the case, another judge stepped in and ordered a police investigation into the accusation. Police found that the men who had made the accusation were attempting to take possession of Masih's property, and the lawyers could not produce any evidence to support the blasphemy charges.
The judge therefore dismissed the case and released Masih.
"This is a remarkable case where a judge has released a person accused of blasphemy," said Masih's lawyer, Allah Rakha. "In my many years in the judicial system, I have never seen a judge show backbone in such a sensitive case."
Some government officials are comparing the case against Barkat Masih to the much more publicized case of Rimsha Masih, a girl from Islamabad who was arrested in August on charges of burning pages of an Islamic text. The court dismissed the case when police presented evidence that the burnt pages had been planted on the girl by a local imam.
"Rimsha Masih's case is a clear example of how the blasphemy law is being abused by some people," said Peter Jacob from the National Commission for Justice and Peace. "Even in Barkat Masih's case, it is quite clear that the men who accused him were out to get their hands on his property and that's why they made an accusation against him that very few people in Pakistan dare to question. The government and the courts should review all the blasphemy cases because most of those who have been accused are victims of envy and prejudice."
Source: World Watch Monitor
