LAHORE, Pakistan — Two Christian brothers in Pakistan have been acquitted of the false blasphemy charges that had been brought against them, reported Christian Daily International and Morning Star News.
Eighteen-year-old twin brothers Sahil Shahid and Raheel Shahid are out of prison after a district judge in Kasur in Pakistan’s Punjab province handed down the acquittal Jan. 25, their attorney, Javed Sahotra, the news outlets reported.
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Sahotra said the defense showed that the charges were false and that police did not investigate thoroughly.
None of the eight people called to testify were able to say under cross-examination exactly which portions of the Quran the twins allegedly had desecrated, Sahortra said.
The brothers, who live in Qulay Wala village in Kasur District, were arrested in August 2024 and accused of tearing pages from the Quran. In Pakistan, which is predominantly Muslim, desecration of the Quran is considered blasphemy and carries a life sentence, states the news outlets.
A rights activist previously had told the news outlets that the twins are illiterate. Family of the two brothers surrendered the twins to police after their mother and uncle were detained.
Pakistan is No. 8 on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
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