Anti-terrorism court in Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday, November 23, awarded death sentences to a Muslim cleric and four others for burning alive a Christian man and his pregnant wife two years ago.
Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Azam also imposed a fine of 200,000 rupees on each convicted for lynching the couple. Eight other suspects were sentenced to two years in prison, the Press Trust of India reported.
On November 4, 2014 Shahbaz Maseeh, 26, and his wife Shama Bibi, 24, were accused of setting fire to several verses of the Koran and attacked by colleagues at a brick factory where they worked at Kot Radha Kishan area of Kasur district, 64 kilometers southwest of Punjab’s Lahore city. The couple were planning to flee with their children when the mob caught them.
