Salamat Masih, a Pakistani child in a Christian family, was accused of writing blasphemous phrases on the wall of a mosque despite his illiteracy and arrested along with his uncles Manzoor and Rehmat. Later, a gunman killed Manzoor and wounded Salamat.
Sometime in May 1993, Salamat Masih, a Pakistani child born to Christian parents, got into an argument with a Muslim child. As Salamat told it, the Muslim boy caught some pigeons that belonged to Salamat and refused to give them back, leading to the conflict. It apparently culminated in the Muslim boy accusing Salamat of writing blasphemous phrases on the wall of the mosque, even though Salamat reportedly could not write.
Salamat was soon arrested in connection with this case, along with his uncles Manzoor and Rehmat—both Christians. Salamat, whose was 12 years old at the time of arrest, was held in prison for six months before finally being released on bail in November. The granting of bail, however, did not mean that the case was dropped.
"It started over some pigeons. The boys caught my pigeons and they didn't want to give them back to me ... The little boy with whom I had a fight said he saw me write on the mosque." - Salamat Masih
In April 1994, when the two men and Salamat appeared in court in connection with the case, three armed men waited outside the court on motorcycles. When Manzoor, Salamat, and Rehmat emerged, they opened fire. Manzoor was killed instantly, while Salamat and Rehmat were both wounded and taken to the hospital for treatment.
"If the court lets them go we will come out on the street and fight the Christians." - Muslim protester
Later, Salamat and Rehmat were both convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. However, this conviction was overturned in early 1995 by a higher court following Christian protests both within and without the country. As such, they were technically free, but Islamic fundamentalists soon appealed the case yet again to a higher court amid violent rioting in protest of the acquittal. The volatility of the situation was such that Salamat and Rehmat fled to Germany.
Witham, Larry. "Christians press to end persecution - Urge U.S. government to use its influence." The Washington Times, January 23, 1996: A2.
Iqbal, Anwar. "Pakistan rejects fundamentalists' demand." UPI (USA), March 30, 1995.
Korstanje, Casey. "Keeping faith in Pakistan: Archbishop recounts the hardship and the joy of being a Chrisitian in a land struggling for an Islamic identity." Hamilton Spectator, The (Ontario, Canada), August 5, 1995: A7. Griffin, Jennifer. "Boy, 12, faces execution for blasphemy in Pakistan." The Washington Times, November 30, 1993: A1.
"Christian child could face death penalty in Pakistan for blasphemy." UPI (USA), November 4, 1993.
Iqbal, Anwar. "Pakistani gunmen kill accused blasphemer." UPI (USA), April 5, 1994.
Pakistan is one of the most repressive countries in the world with regard to freedom of expression, including and especially religious freedom. Blasphemy (i.e. insults) against religion in general can result in imprisonment, while blasphemy against Islam carries the much harsher punishment of death. Both in terms of the aggressiveness with which the Islamic-conservative government prosecutes such cases, as well as the harshness of punishment, Pakistan remains one of the worst places on the planet to speak out against religion or religious fundamentalism.