rawalpindi: The family of a mentally ill British man sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy have urged London to intervene to seek his release.
Mohammad Asghar was sentenced by a court in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, last week for writing letters claiming to be a prophet of Islam.
The special court inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where Asghar is being held, rejected defence claims that Asghar has mental health problems.
But a statement from the British charity Reprieve, which is helping Asghar’s family, said the 69-year-old was detained by authorities in Scotland in 2010 because of mental problems and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. AFP
