ICC Note:

The persecution of Christians in Pakistan has been highlighted in a recent report by Amnesty International on the country’s blasphemy laws. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are often misused and false accusations are leveled to settle personal scores, for financial gain, or to incite religious hatred against minority communities. Many Christians have been falsely accused of blasphemy in Pakistan, making it one of the top issues faced by the persecuted minority. 

12/22/2016 Pakistan (Christian Today) – The plight of Christians in Pakistan has been spotlighted in a new Amnesty International report taking aim at the country’s blasphemy laws.

The “As good as dead” report says religious minorities are often the target of false blasphemy accusations and that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are actually “emboldening vigilantes” who are prepared to threaten or even kill those accused.

Once accused, victims face a “grueling struggle” to prove their innocence as well as continued threats to their life even if the charges against them have been dropped and they have been released from detention.

Amnesty asserts that little effort is made on the part of the authorities to check the evidence of blasphemy allegations as they bow instead to public pressure from “angry crowds”.  Trials are often “unfair”, the human rights group adds.

“There is overwhelming evidence that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws violate human rights and encourage people to take the law into their own hands. Once a person is accused, they become ensnared in a system that offers them few protections, presumes them guilty, and fails to safeguard them against people willing to use violence,” said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International’s Director of Global Issues.

…