This week, a Pakistani Christian couple, who had been on death row for seven years on false blasphemy charges, has safely arrived in Europe*.
Continue readingPakistani Christians granted asylum after release from death row
Pakistani Christians escape death sentence
The Lahore High Court has overturned a death sentence for a Catholic Pakistani couple. A session court had sentenced Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel to death by hanging in 2014 over blasphemy charges.
Continue readingThe unstoppable march of state censorship
Vaguely worded hate-speech laws can end up criminalising almost any opinion. Paul Coleman is the executive director of ADF International, a human-rights organisation defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. He is the author of Censored: How European Hate Speech Laws are Threatening Freedom of Speech.
Continue readingWhen a tweet can land you in jail: Criminal charges brought against Finnish MP
Imprisonment for posting a Bible tweet is now a very real possibility in Finland. The Finnish Prosecutor General has brought three criminal charges against Finnish Member of Parliament, Päivi Räsänen.
Continue readingForcibly-married 14-year-old Maira hopes for Easter miracle
Maira* loved to sing hymns at her church’s Easter service. This Easter, she is forced to hide rather than be able to join in celebrations. She had been abducted, forcibly married to a much older Muslim man, and must now wait in hiding after escaping. Forced “conversion” through marriage affects an estimated 1,000 girls from religious minorities in Pakistan every year.
Continue readingOn International Women’s Day, 14-year-old survivor Maira hopes for freedom
This International Women’s Day, Christian girls in Pakistan fear for their safety. Maira Shabaz knows the dangerous reality more than most. She escaped her captor – but not before he brutalised, blackmailed, married and forcibly “converted” her from her Christian faith.
Continue readingAbduction, rape, blackmail: A Pakistani teenager’s fight for justice
In Pakistan, a fourteen-year-old girl and her family were forced into hiding after she escaped her abductor who forcibly married her. She escaped and gave a statement to the court saying she was abused and blackmailed.
Continue reading“I will not be intimidated into hiding my faith” – free speech case concerning former Finnish minister continues
On 25 August, former Minister of the Interior and serving Member of the Finnish Parliament, Päivi Räsänen, faces her third police interrogation in recent months.
Continue readingFree speech case: Long-serving Finnish MP faces criminal investigation for questioning church leadership on Twitter
Are people holding public office allowed to express their deeply held beliefs? On 2 March 2020, member of the Finnish Parliament Päivi Räsänen faced a police investigation because of a tweet she posted on June 2019.
Continue readingAsia Bibi free at last: hope for others suffering under blasphemy laws
Today, Asia Bibi arrived in Canada, according to her lawyer. Late last year, her death sentence for blasphemy was overturned by the Pakistani Supreme Court in a landmark ruling, sparking violent protests. Despite her acquittal and significant international criticism, Bibi was kept in custody and not allowed to leave the country.
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