Given the circumstances, things turned out relatively well for the Pakistani Christian Younis Masih. Accusations of blasphemy were made against him, which put the 65-year-old, also known as Bhagat, in grave danger in February. Islamist extremists who were prepared to use violence had already warmed up. On February 10, 2024, his neighbor Sosan F. reported him and claimed to the police that he had forced his way into her house, had severely mistreated her out of anger over her conversion to Islam, and had torn up a Koran. Islamist extremists then threatened him with violence. The Christian lawyer Aneeqa Anthony from Lahore, who represents the ISHR in Pakistan, took on this case and ensured that the police investigated impartially this time.

After just a few days, based on witness statements, she came to the conclusion that Bhagat was wrongly accused. The police released him “because he was proven innocent.” The investigation is now directed against the woman who filed the complaint. Sosan F. and her husband moved into the area two years ago. She was considered quarrelsome by her neighbors. “She enjoys bullying other people over little things,” say residents of the area about the woman. Some time ago she had already threatened Bhagat’s family that they would no longer be happy with their lives. The morning before she filed the police report, witnesses say there was a verbal argument between her and Bhagat near her house.

In the past, the accusation of blasphemy was often used in Pakistan to take revenge on an opponent in a neighborhood dispute or on a business competitor. For years, human rights defenders in Pakistan have been calling for false accusations of blasphemy to be made a criminal offense in order to prevent these excesses.

Accusations that people of other faiths have insulted Islam fit into the propaganda concept of Islamist groups. They incite people and organize a real hunt for the accused. They spare neither the families nor the neighbors. Regardless of the truth of the allegations, the extremist Islamic party Tehreek-e-Labbaik had already threatened the Christian population of the district. The jihadist group had previously vandalized churches and Christian homes several times in response to alleged blasphemy, particularly on August 16 last year in Jaranwala. At that time, the residents were able to escape from the mob into the surrounding fields in time.

In the latest case involving Bhagat, thanks to the prudence of lawyer Aneeqa Anthony, things ended lightly. “This approach has now created trust in the Christian community towards the authorities for the first time,” she says. The situation in the district has now eased again. The Christians have returned to their homes.

But that is not the rule, as the case of 49-year-old Christian Haroon Shehzad proves. A grim neighbor discovered a post by Shehzad on Facebook with a Bible verse. Unfortunately, the man managed to convince the police that the quote was against Islam. Aneeqa Anthony managed to get Shehzad released on bail in November. But radical Islamic groups are not letting up on their threats. Therefore, Haroon Shehzad and his family must continue to hide to avoid being lynched.

He has six school-age children who missed several months of school due to the change of location. Haroon Shehzad cannot practice his job as a house painter. He and his family are dependent on outside help for the duration of the persecution. The ISHR has promised support. Aneeqa Anthony will report via video at the annual meeting of the German section of the ISHR on April 20th and 21st, 2024 about her current cases and her efforts to turn such fates into a good outcome.