8-year-old boy youngest person charged with blasphemy

8-year-old boy youngest person charged with blasphemy

An 8-year-old Hindu boy faces the death penalty after being accused of blasphemy. He is the youngest person to ever be charged with blasphemy in Pakistan. 

Last week, this Hindu boy was released from custody on bail after he was accused of intentionally urinating on a carpet in the library of a madrassa, a Muslim school where religious books were kept. His release led to the Muslim crowd attacking a Hindu temple in the district of Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, as reported earlier by Global Human Rights Defence on Wednesday, August 4. 

The boy is now being held in protective police custody in east Pakistan when a member of the boy’s family stated that he is not aware of blasphemy issues, nor does he understand what this crime entails and why he was kept in jail. Meanwhile, more than a hundred Hindus have fled their community in fear of further attacks. 

The legal consequence for blasphemy in Pakistan is the death penalty. However, no executions have been carried out yet. The laws have always been disproportionately used against religious minorities in Pakistan.

(The Guardian, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/aug/09/eight-year-old-becomes-youngest-person-charged-with-blasphemy-in-pakistan ).