The convictions of three men sentenced to death in the fiery 2014 slayings of a Christian couple in Pakistan were overturned in July.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court cited failure of the prosecution to prove the case beyond doubt, inconsistencies in testimony and weak evidence as reasons for the July 9 decision.
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At the same time, the court dismissed an appeal of the Lahore high court’s acquittal of 102 additional defendants, Basharat Masih, a Christian attorney who attended the court session, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.
In November 2014, a Muslim mob beat Shahzad Masih and Shama Bibi, his pregnant wife. The couple — who had three young children — had been falsely accused of desecrating pages of the Quran. The mob then burned the couple alive in a brick kiln in Kot Radha Kishan in Punjab Province, the news outlet reported.
Originally, police listed 660 individuals as suspects. In 2016, five received death sentences and eight others were sentenced to two years in prison. On appeal, two of the death sentences were overturned and three were upheld.
The three upheld convictions are the ones overturned in the Supreme Court decision, Christian Daily-Morning Star reported.
Pakistan is No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the 50 places most difficult to be a Christian.
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