In a judgment announced on 1 July, Sahiwal District Anti-Terrorism Court in Punjab province sentenced Ehsaan Shan Masih (27) to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Ehsaan was accused of sharing a video on TikTok showing the desecrated Quranic text that sparked the Jaranwala riots of August 2023.

Special Judge Ziaullah Khan sentenced Ehsaan to death plus a fine of Rs500,000 (approximately €1,700) under Section 295(C) of Pakistan’s Penal Code, the section that deals with blasphemy. He also sentenced Ehsaan to 22 years in prison: ten years under Section 295(A), seven under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and five plus a fine of Rs500,000 under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Ehsaan’s lawyer Khurram Shahzad Maan said he would appeal the verdict and commented, “Implicating Masih in 295-C is absurd, because he had not uttered or written anything derogatory against Prophet Muhammad; he was just accused of sharing the alleged blasphemous letter.” The lawyer stated that there is no evidence to substantiate the allegation and said his client had testified that he had categorically denied creating or posting any blasphemous content on social media.

“The police recovered Masih’s phone from his house and sent it to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) for examination,” Khurram Shahzad Maan told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “The PFSA report concluded that no blasphemous material was found on the accused’s phone or TikTok account.” He said a police officer was the complainant and all prosecution witnesses were also police officials.

Ehsaan was arrested on 19 August 2023 by police officer Amir Farooq who said he had “shared hateful content at a critical time when authorities were trying to contain the violence“. He said that Ehsaan did not produce the blasphemous content but shared it, causing it to go viral.

Ehsan comes from a very poor family belonging to the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church in Sahiwal and worked at a brick kiln before his arrest. His elder brother Yousaf Masih told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, “We are devastated by the verdict but we have faith in the Lord that He’ll make a way for my brother’s freedom. We are looking for a good lawyer to challenge the sentence in the Lahore High Court.”

Riot: homes and churches torched

The Jaranwala riots began on 16 August 2023 after two Christian brothers were falsely accused of desecrating pages of the Quran. A mob of angry Muslims torched at least one hundred homes and 26 church buildings in the Christian community.

The two Christians were arrested but police determined that they had not desecrated the Quran and that the incident was a trap set by a Muslim who had quarrelled with them. The Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad acquitted the brothers, determining that they had been framed following a personal dispute.

Videos circulated on social media explaining how the trap had been set and showing a letter quoting the alleged blasphemous expressions used in the desecration of the Quran, which meant that the videos themselves were deemed blasphemous.

Punjab police detained over 130 suspects for their role in the attacks on the Christian community in Jaranwala but all have been discharged or released on bail and only a few are expected to go to trial.

Church in Chains sent grants totalling €7,500 to CLAAS/Edge Foundation to help meet the needs of Christians in Jaranwala following the attack.

Reaction

Nasir Saeed, Director of Church in Chains’ partner organisation CLAAS-UK, strongly condemned the sentencing, stating: “This is a religiously motivated and biased judgment. The youth is being made a scapegoat to justify the release of those detained for attacking and burning churches and Christian homes.

“The Christian community in Pakistan is facing severe injustice, living in constant fear for their lives, property, and places of worship… The laws here are discriminatory and unjust, perpetuating a climate of fear and persecution for religious minorities. Our community is left feeling vulnerable and unprotected. True justice was not served in this case. We call upon the government and judicial authorities to review this verdict and address the deep-rooted biases in our legal system. Only then can we hope to live in a society that values and protects all its citizens equally.”

Father Khalid Rashid Asi, director of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Diocese of Faisalabad, told AsiaNews: “At that time when Jaranwala incident took place, thousands of people, including Muslims and Christians, were sharing that letter with others, just passing the information on, and did not have any intention of committing blasphemy. I think Session Court judges are cowards and in fear; they therefore quickly announce their verdict in such cases… [Ehsaan] was not alone in sharing the post, but he and his family were harassed by police then and his family is still living in trauma and fear now.”

National Council of Churches in Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall also criticised the judgment, saying: “The video in question was circulating widely on the social media since August 16 2023, and was even present in the phones of several Muslims, including police officials. Does it make all these people blasphemers? Absolutely not.”

He added, “In over 90 percent of blasphemy cases, the trial courts have convicted the accused even if there was no evidence against them. This is done due to fear and pressure of the religious groups. Our judges do not realise the agony the victims have to suffer for years in prison until the superior courts discharge the cases on grounds of weak evidence.”

Minorities Alliance Pakistan President Advocate Akmal Bhatti said the verdict contained glaring loopholes, and stated: “The prosecution failed to provide concrete evidence in support of the allegations, while all the witnesses were police officials. The witnesses have said on record that neither the video was created nor was it shared on the social media in their presence.”

He criticised police for adding terrorism charges in blasphemy cases, saying: “This is being done mainly under the pressure of Islamist extremist groups to target minority communities, especially Christians.”

(Asia News, Bitter Winter, Christian Daily International-Morning Star News, CLAAS-UK, ICC, Mohabat News)