A Lahore court has convicted a Pakistani Christian of blasphemy and sentenced him to death in a case that sparked riots last year.
Nameem Shakir, the lawyer for Sawan Masih, said the judge announced the verdict on March 27 at a jail where the trial has been held due to fears that Masih would be attacked on his way to the courthouse.
A Muslim man accused Masih of saying bad things about the Prophet Muhammad in March last year.
Police arrested Masih but soon after a mob ransacked the neighborhood where Masih and other Christians live, torching homes and destroying household possessions.
Hundreds of Christian families fled the area but reportedly most have returned and rebuilt their houses.
Although blasphemy is punishable by death under Pakistani law the country has not yet executed anyone convicted of the crime.
Nameem Shakir, the lawyer for Sawan Masih, said the judge announced the verdict on March 27 at a jail where the trial has been held due to fears that Masih would be attacked on his way to the courthouse.
A Muslim man accused Masih of saying bad things about the Prophet Muhammad in March last year.
Police arrested Masih but soon after a mob ransacked the neighborhood where Masih and other Christians live, torching homes and destroying household possessions.
Hundreds of Christian families fled the area but reportedly most have returned and rebuilt their houses.
Although blasphemy is punishable by death under Pakistani law the country has not yet executed anyone convicted of the crime.
