Rights advocates said it was quite likely that the impoverished Christian was targeted by a “blasphemy business group” that has entrapped hundreds of innocent persons.

Salwan Momika was at the centre of an international controversy in 2023 with Islamic countries calling for limits on free speech in Sweden. “Islamists often play according to other rules”, laments Olof Edsinger of the Evangelical Alliance.

In the last month, mobs lynched a Muslim resident, and beat a 74-year-old Christian with stones, accusing them of breaking blasphemy laws.

The US International Commission on Religious Freedom warns in its annual report that several governments have engaged in the repression of religious minorities.

The false blasphemy charges had led to Muslims attacking Christian homes and businesses in Pakistan last year, forcing hundreds to flee.

The government hopes to see less terrorist threats, but critics say it shows fear and a lack of trust in freedom of speech.

A month after the attack on a Christian colony in Faisalabad, Imran, a Pakistani Christian, analyses the situation on the ground. “Churches fear a repetition”, he says.

The contrast of the Old Testament’s Cherem wars with the Quran’s ideology of Jihad is striking. This will help understand the current debate in Sweden – and elsewhere.

Christians are against desecrating holy books, says Olof Edsinger, leader of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance. But “something is terribly wrong when totalitarian regimes are trying to force us to abandon our hard-won human rights”, he adds.

“The mobs not only burned and looted our churches and homes, they also vandalized our graveyard and the office of the assistant commissioner, who is also a Christian”, sources in Jaranwala said.

The government also agreed to establish a “Counter Blasphemy Wing”  to take action against dissemination of “blasphemous content” on the internet.

“There was no proof against him, and none of the witnesses produced by police could corroborate the blasphemy allegation against him”, said the attorney.

A Christian was arrested for  allegedly posting and sharing blasphemous images on social media. He may face death penalty.

The landlord, rival shop owner, falsely accused him of disrespecting Muhammad by allegedly saying that Christ was the only “true prophet”.

The Christian brothers have been in jail since 2014, accused of creating a blog with blasphemous material, after “a shoddy investigation and evidence”, said the lawyers.

They were accused of “unauthorized worship”. The court has upheld the sentence of six months in prison but reduced the fine by half.

A report originally written to help the EU fight the persecution of faith minorities was watered down before its approval. The European Evangelical Alliance warns about the risks of minimising the importance of certain human rights.

The death sentence is for a Protestant pastor who has been in prison since 2012, while the other was released on bail after four years in prison for Facebook comments.

Somali militant group was suspected of joining the attacks. “Please pray for the families affected. People have fled from the area for fear of their lives”, evangelicals say.

Decision cloaked for two months to deter Islamist backlash.

The nurses were accused of “defiling the Koran”. A Muslim co-worker attacked one of them with a knife.

A large number of Islamist lawyers swarmed the courtroom during a hearing, an intimidation tactic designed to obtain convictions and harsh sentences.

The father of four young children had been sentenced to five years in prison and fined 100,000 dinars. “That this story goes back three years and only now it’s resurfacing – it’s hard to digest”, says the church that supports his family.

A Korean Christian and three nationals have been accused of fraudulent conversion attempts while distributing food to people in need.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has analysed the effects of blasphemy laws worldwide between 2014-18. 11% of the blasphemy-related incidents took place in Europe.