Two Christians in Pakistan acquitted of blasphemy – another dies in prison

Mixed news from Pakistan highlights the vulnerability of Christians to false accusations of blasphemy and the dangers they can bring.

Two Christians in Pakistan have been acquitted of blasphemy, but another person falsely charged under the law has died whilst in custody.

Earlier this month, a court in Lahore ordered the release of Dennis Albert, who was arrested in April 2024 on blasphemy charges. He was accused of ’hurting religious sentiments’ and ‘defiling the Quran’ after stepping on pages of scripture when getting out of his rickshaw. However, the judge ruled there was insufficient proof of guilt, including unreliable witness testimonies and missing evidence.

Whilst mindful of the sanctity in which the Quran is held by people, the judge said that the ‘standard of legal proof’ needed to be upheld, according to Dawn.

Call for accountability

Meanwhile, also in Lahore, a 51-year-old blind Christian was released last month after facing blasphemy charges in court. Nadeem Masih was charged with insulting the Prophet Mohammad in August 2025 following a disagreement with other workers in a park where he was operating a scale for people to check their weight.

His lawyer, Lazar Allah Rakha, welcomed the verdict, having always maintained that the case against his client was fabricated and fuelled by personal grievances – sadly common in the country. Blasphemy charges officially carry the death penalty in Pakistan. While this sentence is unlikely to be carried out in practice, even those accused of the crime face great danger from extremists in the wider population. There have been numerous examples of violent mobs forming to target people accused of blasphemy, and their families and communities, including the devastating attack on Jaranwala in 2023. It is one of the reasons Pakistan is eighth on the World Watch List.

“We are pleased the judges found in favour of the accused,” says an Open Doors advocacy spokesperson. “Being accused of blasphemy is an extremely serious charge in Pakistan and has life-changing consequences for the person in question and their family. We ask that investigations are carried out thoroughly by experienced officers and all evidence is examined carefully before charges are filed. We would also welcome any move to hold those who make false accusations of blasphemy accountable in the law.”

Inadequate care

However, a third person falsely accused of blasphemy has died whilst in prison. Amir Peter was accused after local shopkeepers filed a complaint with the police in July 2025. He suffered from diabetes, but did not receive adequate medical care and died from complications after almost a year in prison.

During the funeral mass, Archbishop Khalid Rehmat of Lahore said, “Amir Peter remained steadfast in his faith until the end. He lived his entire life according to the values of the gospel and remained faithful to the church. His witness of fidelity to God is an example for his children and for all of us.”