ISTANBUL, Turkey — A Christian high school principal jailed 15 months ago by Pakistan authorities for alleged blasphemy against Islam has been attacked while asleep in his cell.
Pervaiz Masih, 34, was struck twice in the head by another inmate before he awakened enough to wrestle with his attacker and call the jail guards, a Christian human rights advocacy group in Lahore confirmed on July 6.
According to the Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), Masih was asleep on the night of June 17 when another inmate named Akhtar Bashir attacked him. His assailant started beating him, drawing blood when he struck him in the face with a sharp fragment of glass. He also tore Masih’s Bible and other Christian materials in his cell before prison guards intervened.
“Pervaiz seemed to be under a lot of distress,” Pakistani journalist Sadia Bokhari told Compass Direct news service after visiting him in Daska’s Bukshi Khana Jail last week. “He had a slight scar that could be seen over his left eyebrow from the attack,” she said.
The Daily Times reporter said Masih was well respected in the Daska prison, where the jail superintendent has allowed him some freedom of movement within the facility and even assigned him duties over some prisoners. “Everyone there knows the allegations against Pervaiz are false,” she said.
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