Bail 8 times higher than the maximum allowed is demanded from a Christian accused of blasphemy in Pakistan
"It appears that the judge wanted to make Waqas' release impossible by setting the value of the bonds at Rs 4 million. This was an impossible goal, as Waqas' family is extremely poor and his father is paralyzed."
Sunny Waqas, 23, is a Pakistani Christian. Charged with blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistani Penal Code, he has already spent 3 years in prison. On January 17, a judge from the Bahawalpur court of the Lahore High Court imposed an amount of 4 million rupees for his release, i.e. nearly 15 euros, even though the maximum amount that can be demanded in this case is fixed. at 000 rupees.
Aneeqa Maria, lawyer for The Voice Society, spoke about this to Morning Star News.
"It appears that the judge wanted to make Waqas' release impossible by setting the value of the bonds at Rs 4 million. This was an impossible goal, as Waqas' family is extremely poor and his father is paralyzed."
The amount of the deposit was however able to be paid thanks to the action of The Voice Society. Sunny Waqas was released from prison on February 3. A release on bail made possible thanks to the non-respect of the deadlines for his trial.
“From the outset of the case, the Bahawalpur High Court took a very one-sided approach towards us – we were openly threatened by judges and intimidated by Muslim lawyers, who also roughed up a member of our team,” explains Aneeqa Maria.
She claims a High Court judge told her on the day of the bail hearing, "Lawyer Aneeqa Maria, you know you can be burned to death for pursuing this case in Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur… people get very emotional when it comes to religious matters".
He also reportedly claimed that Sunny Waqas should stay in jail, "because he will be killed when he gets out of jail."
While a student, Sunny was accused of blasphemy, after having a minor argument with his Muslim neighbors during a cricket match, according to The Voice Society. According to an informant, he had printed blasphemous sketches of Muhammad, sent by his cousin, and intended to show them "to his friends and other people". Her cousin, Noman Masih, has been charged and is still in prison.
"The two blasphemy cases against Waqas and Noman reek of bad faith from the police of two districts - Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar," the lawyer told Morning Star News. "In both cases, the police are the complainants, and they claim to have acted against the young Christians on the basis of secret information."
"Sunny Waqas told us that he had an argument with Muslim neighbors over a cricket match a few days before he became involved in the matter. He is still unable to understand how this altercation could have trapped him him and his cousin.... We pray and hope that this case will be heard by God-fearing judges who will decide the case on its merits, rather than basing their decisions on personal or religious bias."
MC
Photo credit: CreativeCommons / Wikimedia
