Home Latest News Christian Teen Charged with Blasphemy Over Mecca Photo

Christian Teen Charged with Blasphemy Over Mecca Photo

by AFP
Paul J. Richards—AFP

File Photo. Paul J. Richards—AFP

Police say Nabeel Chohan allegedly shared a disparaging photograph of the Kaaba on social media.

A Pakistani Christian teen has been charged with blasphemy over a derogatory picture of Islam’s holiest place, police said on Tuesday.

Nabeel Chohan was arrested for liking and sharing on social media a disparaging photograph of the Kaaba, the building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that Muslims turn and pray to five times a day.

Chohan, who is 18 and from Punjab province, also kept the picture on his phone, police said.

A Muslim friend of Chohan’s informed police after seeing the Facebook post on Sept. 16 and the teen was arrested after his friend filed the blasphemy case, police official Shahbaz Ahmed said. “A case of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims and desecrating the religious place has been lodged,” said Ahmed.

Muhammad Hussain, the investigating police officer, confirmed the arrest and told AFP Chohan was in a police cell.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, where even unproven allegations can provoke beatings and mob violence. It has extremely strict laws against blasphemy, including the death penalty for insulting Islam’s Prophet, and rights campaigners say they are often used to settle personal disputes in a country where 97 percent of the population is Muslim.

Related Articles

Leave a Comment