LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) – A Pakistani court on Monday granted bail to a Christian convicted in 2018 while still a teenager of insulting Islam through a photo of Islam’s holiest website on posting on social media, a lawyer said.
The court order in the eastern city of Lahore comes more than four years after Nabeel Masih was arrested. He was detained after a crowd accused him of blasphemy by sharing a photo of Kaaba in Mecca on Facebook. He was then 16 years old.
According to his lawyer, Naseeb Anjum, Masih was granted bail by the Lahore High Court. It was unclear exactly when Masih would be released.
Blasphemy was a controversial issue in Pakistan. Domestic and international human rights groups believe that blasphemous allegations are often used to intimidate religious minorities and to determine personal points.
In 2018, Masih became the latest convict of blasphemy in Pakistan when the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Since then, the British Asian Christian Association has been supporting a legal battle for its release.
Anjum said he would try to finish the paperwork quickly to free Masih, now 20 years old. “I will continue this legal battle for his acquittal,” he added.
Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, a lawyer for the man who made the original indictment against Masih, confirmed that Masih was granted bail but did not provide any further details.
Juliet Chowdhry, a trustee of the British Asian Christian Association, said in a statement that she was pleased that Masih would be released, but noted that he had “lost many of his most important years of development”.
Chowdhry said Masih should be compensated for his false belief to help him recover his life and the organization will pursue it for him. “We call on Christians everywhere to pray for him as we continue the fight,” she said.
A Punjab governor was killed by his own guard in 2011 after defending a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy. She was acquitted after spending eight years in the realm of the dead and leaving Pakistan for Canada to join her family after receiving threats.