A court in Pakistan has cleared Christian twin brothers of false blasphemy charges, as the prosecution was unable to provide sufficient evidence against them.
Eighteen-year-old Christian twin brothers Sahil Shahid (Kalu) and Raheel Shahid (Tabish) were prosecuted for false blasphemy accusations but were recently released from prison, according to their attorney Javed Sahotra.
Kasur Additional Sessions Judge Farzana Shahzad ordered the release of the 18-year-olds after their defense team demonstrated that they had been falsely charged and that the police had not conducted a proper investigation.
Attorney Javed Sahotra explained that during the cross-examination of eight witnesses, including the investigating officer and the complainant, none could identify the specific Quranic verses that were allegedly desecrated by the brothers from Qulay Wala village in Kasur District, Punjab Province.
“Neither the IO nor any other witness was able to respond to my question, which shows that the evidence they had submitted against the brothers had been fabricated,” Sahotra told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
The judge accepted Sahotra's arguments and ordered the release of the twins, issuing a notice to the Kasur district police officer to investigate the investigating officer for a weak investigation.
Sahotra further argued that Inspector Muhammad Saleem of Kasur Saddar Police Station lacked the qualifications to handle the case, noting, “Though Saleem is serving as an inspector, he has only obtained higher secondary education and is unable to read or understand the Arabic language.” Following their release, the twins were able to reunite with their family.
The defense team informed the court that the brothers had been falsely charged to instill fear in the Christian community and force them to leave the village. Sahotra commented, “We believe that this case was a conspiracy against the Christian residents so that vested interests could grab their land and properties. However, timely intervention of the police and our successful defense of the victims scuttled their nefarious designs.”
The Shahid brothers were arrested and charged with blasphemy on August 27, 2024, after accusations of tearing pages from the Quran. In Pakistan, desecrating the Quran can lead to a life sentence, but intent must be proven for a conviction.
Ghulam Mustafa, the complainant, alleged that the brothers had desecrated Quranic pages at a local village fair on August 26, 2024. The brothers, who are illiterate and come from a poor family, were surrendered to the police by family members after officials detained their mother and an uncle, rights activist Sajid Christopher told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
Meanwhile, The U.N. Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) urged the repeal or amendment of the country’s blasphemy laws on November 7, 2024. The committee noted that false accusations lead to Islamist mob violence and recommended that laws be revised in alignment with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
In its concluding observations on Pakistan, the committee expressed concern about sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which impose severe penalties, including the death penalty, disproportionately impacting religious minorities.
The committee emphasized the need to stop using cybercrime laws, such as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, to prosecute and detain those accused of breaching blasphemy laws online and called for investigations into the misuse of blasphemy laws related to cybercrime.
