A Christian falsely charged with blasphemy in three cases was released on bail this week after prosecutors failed to produce evidence against him, his attorney said.
Zimran Asim, 35, was released on Wednesday (Oct. 30) after he won bail from the Lahore High Court on Sept. 24 in the third blasphemy case registered against him, attorney Aneeqa Maria said. The high court had granted him bail in the other two cases on July 29 and April 24.
She said Sargodha police had arrested the Catholic on Aug. 27, 2023, in the three cases registered under Sections 295-A, 295-B, 295-C and 298-A of the blasphemy statutes for incidents that took place on July 16, Aug. 20 and Aug. 25 last year. Violations under 295-C, blaspheming Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, carries a mandatory death sentence.
All three judges who granted bail to Asim had noted that there was no direct evidence against him.
“Asim was implicated only because he was seen once with the primary accused, Akash Masih,” Maria said. “During investigation, Masih told police he had committed the crimes because he was angry at the Muslims for persecuting Christians and burning churches in Jaranwala. He had categorically absolved Asim, his long-time neighbor, of involvement, but the police still named him as an accessory in the three cases.”
Asim, father of a 4-year-old girl, was charged with blasphemy even though Masih had admitted that the Catholic was not involved in the acts of Quran desecration and writing of blasphemous content at three locations, Maria said.
Asim has been moved to a safe location after his release due to security fears, she said.
“His family is already in hiding after Asim was arrested and branded as a ‘spy’ and ‘blasphemer,’” Maria said. “Their house and all belongings have been grabbed by local Muslims, and the family has nothing left to return to their village.”
Asim’s brother Zeeshan Asim previously told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that a vicious campaign was launched against his family on social media after the Punjab police chief claimed in a press conference that the blasphemy incidents in Sargodha were carried out at the behest of a foreign country.
“Our photographs were downloaded from Facebook and made viral in social media groups and pages, putting the security of the entire family at serious risk,” Zeeshan said previously. “My elderly parents and siblings had no other option but to relocate from the village.”
Highlighting the risks faced by lawyers defending people accused of blasphemy, Maria said she and her team were subjected to threats and intimidation by Islamist groups.
“I believe the blatant misuse of the laws has made the situation equally dangerous for blasphemy accused, their defense counsels as well as rights defenders,” she said. “The government must take this issue seriously in order to protect innocent lives and break this environment of fear.”
His release follows that of another Christian jailed on blasphemy charges on Oct. 23 after a high court noted glaring loopholes in the police case against him. Chand Shamaun was arrested on June 23 and charged with insulting Islam under Section 295-A of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and Section 9 of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. He was accused of inciting religious tensions Okara, Punjab Province, by threatening to desecrate the Quran, said attorney Javed Sahotra.
Maria emphasized the need in Pakistan for ensuring fair trials in blasphemy cases, including objective assessment of evidence and scrutinizing intent behind alleged blasphemous acts.
“Zimran Asim’s case is a fitting example of how innocent people are implicated in false cases by individuals as well as the police,” she said. “This poor man was forced to suffer in prison, away from his family for over one year. They also lost their home and can’t even think of going back to their village.”
The situation has deteriorated to the extent that police officials are now involved in extrajudicial murders of blasphemy accused, she said.
“The government needs to act now to stop this trend of false accusations and to restore the writ of the law.”
The United Nations Human Rights Committee on Oct. 17 observed that Pakistani authorities have failed to curb a range of human rights violations, including a sharp increase in blasphemy-related violence. Expressing serious concern over frequent attacks against religious minorities, including accusations of blasphemy, targeted killings, lynchings, mob violence, forced conversions, and desecration of places of worship, the committee stated that Pakistani society has become increasingly intolerant of religious diversity.
“Religious minorities are facing a constant threat of persecution and discrimination amid the rise of religious radicalism,” the committee stated.
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
