Gender: Male

Current Location: Central Jail, Hyderabad

Perpetrator: Pakistan

Religion or Belief: Christian – Unspecified/Other

Health Concerns: Mental disability

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: Life Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: June/4/2015

Date of Sentencing: September/28/2018

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Blasphemy (Religious Texts)

Nature of Charges: Blasphemy

Yaqoob Bashir Masih

Extra Bio Info:

Yaqoob Bashir Masih is imprisoned for blasphemy.

On June 4, 2015, authorities arrested Masih after he was accused of burning a booklet containing Qur'anic text.  Prior to his arrest, a mob reportedly used violence against him following the incident. He was reportedly charged with "desecrating the Qur'an" (Sec. 295-B PPC) and "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" (Sec. 295-C PPC).

On September 28, 2018, the Session and District Court of Mirpurkhas reportedly found Masih guilty of "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" (Sec. 295-C PPC) and sentenced him to life in prison. The court found Masih not guilty of "desecrating the Qur'an" (Sec. 295-B PPC).

Masih reportedly suffers from mental disability.

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