Rawalpindi (AsiaNews) Pakistan has released a young man arrested for blasphemy last year after he was found to be "mentally deranged", according to the Assist News agency. Sohail Masih, 26 years was reportedly released on 6 October. He was arrested in November 2005 on charges that he had burned pages of the Quran.
Section 295 (B) of Pakistan's Penal Code, more commonly known as the 'blasphemy law', imposes life in prison or the death penalty for anyone desecrating Islam's holy scriptures. The law is often used to settle private disputes and it affects both Muslims and Christians.
Police opened a case against Sohail on the basis of witnesses from the village of Mohalla Raja Sultan in Rawalpindi. His neighbours said they saw him throwing pages of the Quran into a fire for garbage on the night between 9 and 10 November last year.
Shortly after his arrest, the Centre for Legal Aid and Assistance provided the young man with a lawyer. The lawyer submitted an appeal to have Sohail absolved on medical grounds. The defence also argued that there was no direct evidence against Sohail and that the police did not conduct proper investigations and merely relied on "hearsay" statements.
Now Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan will see to Sohail's medical expenses and to maintaining his family. After his arrest, his parents left Mohalla Raja Sultan for fear of Muslim extremists.
