by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A 17-year-old Christian youth who is incarcerated in Punjab Province, Pakistan has been granted bail in one of three cases against him of blasphemy – although he will remain in prison over Christmas because of the remaining two cases, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Akash Karamat, a student from a poor Christian family in Sargodha, Punjab Province, has been in prison since his arrest on August 27 last year, MSN reports. “Akash was accused of writing blasphemous posters and desecrating the Quran in areas of Sargodha, allegedly in retaliation for the Aug. 16, 2023, Muslim mob attacks on multiple churches and homes of Christians in Jaranwala,” MSN said in its report.
Giving hope to his family that he may be released on bail for the remaining cases, on December 19 Akash was granted bail in the most serious case, one which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment if he is convicted, MSN reports.
In a statement to MSN, Akash’s attorney, Asad Jamal, said:
“Karamat and his co-accused, Zimran Asim, were implicated falsely in all three cases. Asim has already been freed on bail in all three cases, and we believe that Karamat will also get justice.”
In a separate statement, Akash’s father, Karamat Masih, told MSN about the impact his son’s incarceration has had. “We’ve suffered a lot since the time police arrested Akash on these false charges. I used to earn a livelihood for the family through my tailoring shop, but after Akash was arrested, we were forced to close it down and leave our home to save ourselves from violence. We’ve been surviving hand-to-mouth since then.”
Ruled by an Islamic regime with harsh blasphemy laws, Pakistan ranks 7 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Russia’s aviation authority claimed Friday that the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on Wednesday “deviated” from its planned destination of Grozny “due to heavy fog and Ukrainian drones.”
The NATO chief announced Friday that the military alliance would strengthen its presence in the Baltic Sea following Russia’s suspected sabotage of an undersea power cable between Finland and Estonia.
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent (Worthy News) – A 17-year-old Christian youth who is incarcerated in Punjab Province, Pakistan has been granted bail in one of three cases against him of blasphemy – although he will remain in prison over Christmas because of the remaining two cases, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Akash Karamat, a student from a poor Christian family in Sargodha, Punjab Province, has been in prison since his arrest on August 27 last year, MSN reports. “Akash was accused of writing blasphemous posters and desecrating the Quran in areas of Sargodha, allegedly in retaliation for the … Read more
South Korea’s political crisis deepened Friday as the opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo despite loud protests by governing party lawmakers.
Christians gathered in Indonesia on Thursday to pray for survivors and families of victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami 20 years ago that killed some 230,000 people and left deep scarves in the lives of those who were there.
The US-based Eastern European Mission (EEM) Bible distribution ministry recently reported that, amid the continuing devastating war against Russia’s invasion, Ukrainians have requested an increasing number of Bibles to be sent to be delivered in their language, The Christian Post (CP) reports.
A bus carrying dozens of people veered off the road, landing in a lake in Norway and killing several people, authorities say.