Christian doctor attacked, jailed for ‘blasphemy’

GUJRANWALA, Pakistan — In Punjab province, a Pakistani mob attacked a Christian doctor, charging him with "blasphemy."

Police then arrested Dr. Robin Sardar, and officials said he is being held in Punjab’s Gujranwala Central Jail. His wife and six children have left their home in the town of Chak Chatta, 200 miles southeast of Islamabad.

"This is the house of a blasphemer," says a sign on the gates of Sardar’s now empty home where a crowd of angry villagers gathered May 5. Carrying sticks and kerosene, the group chanted, "The punishment of the blasphemer is death," family members said. Sardar denied having said anything against Muhammad.

Under article 295-c of Pakistan’s penal code, blasphemy against Islam’s prophet Muhammad merits death. Now in hiding with relatives at an undisclosed location, Sardar’s wife, Veenas, said she could not return home for fear of new attacks. Neighbors have told her that members of local Islamist groups have threatened to kill Sardar if he is acquitted.