Amnesty calls on Pakistan to release Briton sentenced to death for blasphemy

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ANI London
Last Updated : Jan 26 2014 | 3:00 PM IST

Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of a Muslim man from Britain facing death sentence under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Mohammad Asghar, from Edinburgh, has been awarded the death sentence for sending letters to officials claiming to be the Prophet Mohammed.

According to the BBC, Asghar's lawyer said he suffers from mental illness. He was treated for paranoid schizophrenia in Edinburgh before he returned to Pakistan in 2010.

Amnesty's deputy Asia Pacific director Polly Truscott said Asghar is now facing the charges for just writing a series of letters, and he did not deserve the punishment.

He added that Pakistan must immediately release Asghar and reform its blasphemy laws to ensure that this will not happen again.

The British High Commission in Islamabad said it was aware of Asghar's case and provided assistance to him, the report added.

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First Published: Jan 26 2014 | 2:50 PM IST

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