Christian group calls for release of Christian prisoners accused of blasphemy
According to Asia News, the National Christian Party protested in front of the Press Club in Karachi, Pakistan, on the 18th of June, demanding the release of twenty-four Christian prisoners accused of blasphemy. They also spoke out against the kidnapping of minority girls and their forced conversions to Islam.
“This protest is a slap on the faces of all those leaders who are seated abroad and do politics and speak for the rights of the Christian minority in Pakistan, but they do not raise these issues,” The leader of the National Christian Party, Shabir Shafqat said in a statement.
Shafqat went on to demand that the twenty-four Christian prisoners be released as the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan continues to get worse. Shafqat went on to point out that other prisoners in Pakistan have been released in response to the pandemic, but no mercy has been shown towards minorities.
Pakistani non-governmental organisation, Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) and the World Coalition against the Death Penalty, called on all countries to put a stop to execution during COVID-19 because it is impossible to hold fair trials or guarantee legal representation.
Source and image: persecution.org
