ACLJ Urges UN To Intervene for Young Christian Man Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy

We have just lodged a complaint with the United Nations in a major case in Pakistan where a young Christian man was sentenced to execution by hanging for his faith, stemming from false accusations when he was merely 16 years old. Yet he sits on death row today.

Our affiliate, the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), in Pakistan is representing Shahzad Masih, a young Christian man who was a 16-year-old minor when he was falsely accused of committing blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.

In Pakistan, the crime of uttering derogatory words for the Prophet Muhammad is punishable by mandatory death penalty. However, most cases are false and filed due to personal grudges. This is exactly what happened in this case.  

In July 2017, Shahzad was working at a local hospital as a janitor when a Muslim co-worker named Ishtiaq Ahmad Jalali, who was a prominent member of an aggressive Muslim sect, started a religious conversation, telling Shahzad about Muslim Prophets and asking him questions about the Christian Prophets. Shahzad responded that he did not know much about religion, but would ask his father. When Jalali told Shahzad about the Prophet Muhammad, Shahzad told Jalali that his father has a friend named Ali who makes derogatory remarks whenever he hears anyone’s name that has Muhammad in it.

Jalali became upset. He called Shahzad, his father, and his father’s friend names and left. Later that evening, Shahzad was summoned to a mobile phone shop located near the hospital where dozens of men from a Muslim sectarian group, Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Islam (TTIP) were present. The group’s name literally means “movement to protect Islam.” These men were angry at Shahzad. They asked Shahzad what he said to Jalali. Scared for his life, Shahzad told them that he had told Jalali that his father’s friend, Ali, uses derogatory words when he hears names that have Muhammad in it.

Instead of accusing Ali, the group of men took Shahzad to a nearby madrassah (an Islamic religious school) and handed him over to the police. The police then filed a blasphemy case against Shahzad.

As is clear from these facts, which were stated by all of the prosecution witnesses, Shahzad did not commit any crime. One should not be subject to the death penalty for merely discussing someone else’s crime. Yet, the police arrested Shahzad, the prosecutor filed formal charges, and the court tried him for something that did not even constitute a crime.

After spending over five years in jail awaiting trial, on November 22, 2022, the trial court sentenced Shahzad to death by hanging.

We have not only filed an appeal in the High Court in Pakistan against this unjust decision, but we have also lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD).

The WGAD hears complaints and determines whether the person’s detention is arbitrary, i.e., against the law. The WGAD looks at the legality of the detention under international human rights treaties. Our complaint lists a host of provisions of the international human rights law that Pakistan violated by arresting, falsely charging, prosecuting, and sentencing Shahzad to death. In particular, we argued that the prosecution and the courts violated, among other things, Shahzad’s rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, his right to a fair trial, and equal treatment under the law.

Our complaint also argued that even though the police investigation did not find any evidence of blasphemy in Shahzad’s conversation, the prosecution still brought charges and the case went to trial. During the trial, all the witnesses stated that “Jalali began the religious conversation” and that Shahzad only stated that “his father has a friend named Ali, who uses derogatory remarks in the respect of [the] Holy Prophet.”

Most importantly, the Superintendent of Police (SP) who investigated the case testified in court that, “during my investigation, I did not declare Shahzad Masih guilty.” The SP also stated that an eyewitness did not think that Shahzad made any derogatory remarks against the Prophet.

Even after hearing all of this evidence, and after prolonging the trial for over five years, the trial court sentenced Shahzad to death by hanging after the same Muslim religious sect that his accuser belonged to relentlessly pressured the judge to convict him.

In light of all the evidence and the law, Shahzad’s detention is arbitrary. We have asked the WGAD to take up his case on an urgent basis so that this innocent young man receives justice and is freed.

We have successfully submitted numerous complaints to the WGAD which have often led to the release of imprisoned and persecuted Christians.

We ask you to continue to pray for Shahzad, his physical, emotional, and spiritual health, his family, and the authorities who are involved in seeking justice for him as we work on his appeal.