Stephen Masih Suffers Severe Consequences of Fabricated charges
Stephen Masih is a mentally challenged Christian man from Sialkot District, Pakistan whose extended family consists of his widowed mother, a married brother Francis, and a married sister, with their families.
A Muslim family headed by Muhammad Rafiq lived right in front of Stephen’s house, with about seven feet between the two houses. Rafiq’s two sons, Imran Muhammad Rafiq and Amir Muhammad Rafiq, both raised pigeons. Their pigeons often landed on the Masih family’s roof and terrace. Stephen’s brother Francis and his mother complained many times about the pigeons. Because of this, there were often quarrels, twice escalating to a fierce fight. Once Francis beat up Rafiq’s sons. This quarrel was settled by ‘Panchayet,’ the council of the village elders, but the Muslim family felt insulted that their sons were beat up by a Christian man, and kept the grudge in their hearts.
Francis is a professional driver and drives a loader pickup. One day, March 11, 2019, when Francis was out of the city, the Rafiq brothers called Stephen, the mentally challenged brother, to come out of his house. When he did not come, they forcibly entered the house and started punching, slapping, and hitting Stephen with sticks, spitting in his face, and forcing him face–down into the dirty open drain. Hearing all the commotion, hundreds of people gathered.
At this point, Imran Muhammad and Amir Muhammad told the crowd that Stephen Masih had spoken blasphemous words about the Holy Prophet. Someone called the police, and the police arrested Stephen under the pressure of the angry mob, thus filing a 295C case without an investigation.
After Stephen was taken into custody, the family had no information about his whereabouts for nearly two months. They were not allowed to see him, to know which jail he was in, or even have information about whether he was still alive. After rigorous follow–up with different departments, they finally learned which jail he was placed in and were able to visit him and learn details about what had happened.
the van in which the prisoner was being taken to court was stopped by religious fanatics, who struggled fiercely with the police to take Stephen away. These fanatics demanded that the prisoner be handed over to them because he had insulted the prophet Muhammad and deserved beheading, but the police managed to protect Stephen. From then on, his trial was carried on inside the jail.
of Christians fled and local churches were closed for three to four weeks. Stephen’s case dragged on for nearly three years. His mother is in a wheelchair as she can no longer walk because of her injuries. The family eventually had to sell their house for far less than its value and relocate for their safety.
a country neighboring Pakistan. The family is seeking immigration sponsorship to a safe country. They are also far away from the rest of their family members, who are also at risk