Pakistan mob kills Christian couple over 'blasphemy'
A Christian couple in Pakistan have been beaten to death by an angry crowd after being accused of desecrating a Koran, police say.
Their bodies were burned at the brick kiln where they worked in the town of Kot Radha Kishan in Punjab province.
Police identified the victims only as Shama and Shehzad, AFP reports.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue and critics argue the laws are often misused to settle personal scores and that minorities are unfairly targeted.
"Yesterday an incident of desecration of the holy Koran took place in the area and today the mob first beat the couple and later set their bodies on fire at a brick kiln," local police station official Bin Yameen told the AFP news agency.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29893809
Another stellar day for religion in the news.
More details:
He said that on Sunday, Shama, wife of the deceased Shahzad Masih, was cleaning her quarters when she found some amulets belonging to her late father-in-law who used to ‘practice’ black magic.
“Shama burnt the amulets and threw them on a garbage heap. Irfan, a Muslim co-worker at the kiln, noticed some half burnt pieces of paper from the amulets and raised clamour, claiming that these were pages from the holy Quran, Soon the word spread and at 7am on Tuesday, a Muslim mob of about 3,000-4,000 people attacked the couple’s quarters at the brick kiln and tortured the couple to death. They later threw their bodies into the kiln and completely burnt them,” he said, adding that he and some other Christian families who worked at the kiln fled the kiln immediately after the incident.
He said the couple, aged between 30 and 35 years had three children while Shama was expecting a fourth child.
http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/11/04/national/christian-man-pregnant-wife-beaten-burnt-to-death-over-quran-desecration/
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