On Sunday, May 24, a Christian man in the Sanda neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, was accused of blasphemy when some Muslims saw him burning newspapers that reportedly contained Arabic verses from the Koran.
Following the accusation, a Muslim mob caught and severely beat the Christian, and attempted to set him on fire, say most reports.
However, according to the Pakistan Christian Post, they succeeded: the “Christian Youth alleged of burning Quran pages is also burnt alive.”
A few months earlier, another Muslim mob burned a Christian couple alive inside of a kiln after they too were accused of insulting Islam.
Other sources say the Christian youth—named Humayun Masih, said to be “mentally unstable”—is still alive but imprisoned and to be charged under section 295-B of Pakistan’s penal code, which prohibits the desecration of the Koran.
After the attack on the Christian youth, the Muslim mob, reportedly consisting of thousands, rampaged the neighborhood and set fire to Christian homes and a church. Christians in the region were attacked, and most fled the region; some of the mob was armed and gunshots were heard.
Christian sources said that local authorities were slow to intervene but other witnesses also said that police used tear gas against the mob. Several officers were reportedly injured in the melee.
Human rights activists have long claimed that Pakistan’s “blasphemy law” is exploited to target innocent Christian minorities.