Lahore, Pakistan, Jun 26, 2007 / 08:47 am
Church and human rights bodies, including the Catholic bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace and the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, are challenging the judgment in the case of a young Catholic man, who has been sentenced to death.
On May 30, the Sessions Court sentenced Younis Masih, a 27-year-old furniture polisher, to death for blasphemy and fined him 100,000 rupees (US$1,663).
Younis, who has been imprisoned for nearly two years since being accused of blasphemy, was interviewed by UCA News on June 14.
"My knee joints ache due to the torture by police, who tried to make me confess the alleged blasphemy by beating me with heavy staffs," he told UCA News from within Lahore Central Jail. He said he is also denied clean water and other necessities provided to fellow inmates.