CLAAS saddened by the death of Pakistani Christian accused of Blasphemy

Lahore, Pakistan: March 16, 2011, (PCTV Newsdesk)

The Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) is shocked and saddened by news of the sudden death of a Christian man imprisoned for blasphemy. Qamar David was one year into a life sentence in Central Jail Karachi for blasphemy.  The circumstances of his death remain unclear and we would ask that you pray for his family who are mourning his loss right now.

The news has been greeted with sadness by the staff at CLAAS. The organisation was involved in Qamar’s case and had never lost hope that his life sentence would be overturned.

He was charged and sentenced on spurious grounds and we have always felt that Qamar was a victim of gross injustice.

In 2006, Qamar was accused of sending blasphemous text messages about the Prophet Muhammad to the cell phone of a local Muslim.

On May 24, 2006, he was arrested without any evidence and was beaten by police officers whilst in their custody.

Although the SIM card allegedly used to send the text messages was registered in the name of Manwar Ahmed, another man accused in the case, Qamar David was sentenced to life imprisonment on February 25, 2010, while Munwar Ahmed was acquitted.

CLAAS UK Coordinator Nasir Saeed said: “Qamar is yet another victim of Pakistan’s unjust blasphemy laws.  Even if the charges brought against him were true, it is appalling that he should have been sentenced to life in prison and even more tragic that he should have died there.  In the past, Christians have been attacked in prison or died behind bars in suspicious circumstances.  His death raises more questions about the safety of Christians in prison and we hope that that there is no foul play here.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Qamar’s family.”