Pakistani court acquits Christian man in rare blasphemy case ruling
A Lahore sessions court acquitted Danis Albert after prosecutors failed to link him to the alleged blasphemy. The rare ruling has renewed focus on Pakistan's stringent blasphemy laws and weak evidence standards.
In a rare judgment, a Pakistani court has acquitted a Christian man accused of blasphemy after finding a lack of evidence, a court official said on Tuesday.
A sessions court in Lahore cleared Danis Albert of all charges on Monday after the prosecution failed to directly link him to the alleged tearing of pages of a religious book, the official said.
Police had arrested Albert in April 2024 under Sections 295-A and 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code on a complaint by Mobeen Ilyas. The complainant had claimed that he saw a person standing next to an auto-rickshaw tearing pages of a religious book in Shadman Chowk in Lahore.
"A sessions court on Monday acquitted Danis Albert after the prosecution failed to establish any direct connection between the accused and the alleged act (tearing the pages of a religious book)," the official said. Albert maintained that he was innocent and denied being present at the scene, saying he had been implicated because of a personal grudge.
Judge Abdul Ghaffar observed that the prosecution case had been badly weakened by unreliable witness testimony, missing evidence and unverified digital proof, the official said. "The cross-examination revealed that the complainant had not even drafted the application himself. Another key private witness, who testified to seeing a crowd apprehend one person, also failed to identify the accused in open court as the same individual," the official said.
With the court acquitting Albert of all blasphemy charges, the case has again drawn attention to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, under which punishments range from long prison terms to the death penalty. People accused of blasphemy are also usually deprived of counsel of their choice as many lawyers refuse to take up such sensitive cases.
With PTI Inputs
In a rare judgment, a Pakistani court has acquitted a Christian man accused of blasphemy after finding a lack of evidence, a court official said on Tuesday.
A sessions court in Lahore cleared Danis Albert of all charges on Monday after the prosecution failed to directly link him to the alleged tearing of pages of a religious book, the official said.
Police had arrested Albert in April 2024 under Sections 295-A and 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code on a complaint by Mobeen Ilyas. The complainant had claimed that he saw a person standing next to an auto-rickshaw tearing pages of a religious book in Shadman Chowk in Lahore.
"A sessions court on Monday acquitted Danis Albert after the prosecution failed to establish any direct connection between the accused and the alleged act (tearing the pages of a religious book)," the official said. Albert maintained that he was innocent and denied being present at the scene, saying he had been implicated because of a personal grudge.
Judge Abdul Ghaffar observed that the prosecution case had been badly weakened by unreliable witness testimony, missing evidence and unverified digital proof, the official said. "The cross-examination revealed that the complainant had not even drafted the application himself. Another key private witness, who testified to seeing a crowd apprehend one person, also failed to identify the accused in open court as the same individual," the official said.
With the court acquitting Albert of all blasphemy charges, the case has again drawn attention to Pakistan's blasphemy laws, under which punishments range from long prison terms to the death penalty. People accused of blasphemy are also usually deprived of counsel of their choice as many lawyers refuse to take up such sensitive cases.
With PTI Inputs
