WORLD NEWS | Pakistan: Human rights body welcomes bail after arrest of blasphemy victim

Lahore [Pakistan]May 21 (ANI): Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) welcomes the release on bail of Christian woman Musarrat Bibi and Muslim man Muhammad Sarmad following the arrests granted by the Arifwala District Court in North Patan, Punjab, Pakistan.

Both were charged with blasphemy under Section 295B of the PPC for allegedly burning documents containing Quranic verses on April 15 at a school in Musarrat Bibi where the peons worked and Muhammad Sarmad worked as the gardener, HRFP said in a press release.

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After the last hearing on May 12, the court granted bail to Musarrat Bibi and Muhammad Sarmad on a bond of PKR 100,000 each and a surety. The court trial will continue, with the next hearing scheduled for the next few weeks.

In its judgment, the Court of Additional Sessions Judge Ejaz Ahmad Phullarwan said that during the course of the investigation, the facts emerged that no incident had occurred as stated by the complainant in immediate FIR 385/2023 dated April 19, according to a HRFP press release, 2023 under PPC Section 295 B

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The FIR against the two defendants has been submitted to the local police station and the case falls within the scope of further investigation u/s 497 (2) PPC, HRFP said, adding that both victims were illiterate.

From the beginning, HRFP will continue to support victims and their families through legal, financial and advocacy efforts, according to a press release from HRFP. HRFPs will continue to provide assistance through protection and meeting the further needs of their situation.

HRFP observed that both defendants were innocent because the team conducted an on-site investigation when the issues began. They met family members, stakeholders and Musarrat’s brother, Younas Masih, visited the HRFP office along with the local priest.

Musarrat Bibi shared with HRFP all the details about how and why she and Muhammad Sarmad were falsely accused of blasphemy. According to HRFP’s press release, the main reason for blaming her is their hatred for being a Christian.

Musarrat Bibi said one of the root causes is that few teachers forced her to only clean toilets and did not allow her to sell food in the school shop, saying: “You are a Christian, so you only need to clean toilets”

Musarrat further told HRFP, “On the day of the incident, the victim was performing the duties assigned by the Headmistress Nasreen Saeed, they just cleaned the area and Muhammad Sarmad burned the rubbish but there was no ‘Holy Book’ in the rubbish they burned”

She further added: “Students and teachers at the school claimed that Musarrat Bibi and Muhammad Sarmad burned test papers with verses from the Qur’an. During the mob attack , the two were arrested on April 19, 2023 and sent to Arifwala Prison.”

Musarrat Bibi, a widow and mother of three daughters, was a hard laborer. After her husband died in 2007, she started working.

Navid Walter, president of Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP), said in a press release that once a person is charged with blasphemy, it can have long-term or even life-long consequences for the individual, their family and the community, especially when the accused is a minority group.

Blasphemy charges have always been a life-threatening threat, Walter said, emphasizing that it not only affects victims and families physically, but also emotionally, psychologically and financially. Survivors cannot lead normal lives even after being released on court bail, the HRFP chair said. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)