ICC Note:
Adnan Prince, a Christian accused and subsequently jailed for blasphemy in Pakistan, was granted bail by Pakistan’s Supreme Court last Wednesday. In 2013, Prince was accused of violating Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws, but his lawyers argue that no direct or forensic evidence has been produced by the prosecution to link their client to the accusation. Christians and other religious minorities are often falsely accused of blasphemy in Pakistan as the laws are widely abused to settle personal scores or incite religious hatred. 
02/06/2017 Pakistan (The Express Tribune) – After spending more than three years in jail, a Christian accused of blasphemy was granted bail by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The bench, headed by Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, ordered the release of Adnan Prince, a resident of Lahore, against a bail bond worth Rs300,000.
Prince was in Jail since November 9, 2013 following registration of an FIR against him under sections 295-A, 295-B and 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. Advocate Nadeem Anthony, one of the counsels for the accused, said the suspect is presently in Lahore district jail. His bail application had already been dismissed by a district judge and the Lahore High Court.
Asma Jahangir, lead counsel of the accused, said that her client had been behind bars for three years and three months.
She said the case against him should have been decided within two years and this did not take place due to lawyers’ strikes and delaying tactics by the prosecution.
Jahangir said legal formalities could not be fulfilled when investigating the matter. She said according to guidelines passed by the SC, a police officer, not below the rank of a superintendent, should have conducted the probe. She added there were no direct eyewitnesses and all forensic evidence failed to link the accused.
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