Mental patient acquitted of blasphemy

Published February 2, 2007

LAHORE, Feb 1: The Lahore High Court on Thursday acquitted a mentally unstable Christian, who was undergoing life imprisonment on charges of desecrating the Holy Quran.

Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry while setting aside the life term of the petitioner awarded by a trail court of Faisalabad directed the jail superintendent to release him if he is not required in any other case.

The court observed that the petitioner had been a patient at the Government Hospital for Psychiatric Diseases, Lahore.

Faisalabad police arrested and booked Shahbaz Masih under section 295-B of PPC on the complaint of a prayer leader, Qari Mohammad Rafiq.

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