Two years after a Muslim mob in Pakistan beat a Christian couple to death and threw their bodies into a brick kiln for allegedly desecrating the Koran, justice has still not been served for those responsible for the brutal murders.
As earlier reported, Shahzad Masih, 26, and his 24-year-old, five months-pregnant wife, Shama Bibi, were accused by local Muslims of ripping pages out of a Quran - a crime punishable by death in Pakistan.
Without hesitation, a mob of Muslims attacked the Christian couple, beating them ruthlessly and breaking their legs as they attempted to flee. Then, the mob tossed them inside a brick kiln, where they both worked as laborers.
"They picked them up by their arms and legs and held them over the brick furnace until their clothes caught fire," family spokesman Javed Maseeh told NBC News. "And then they threw them inside the furnace."
The couple left behind three young children, Suleman, Sonia and Poonam.Pakistan's government gave the couple's three young children, Suleman, Sonia and Poonam, a payout of over 5 million rupees ($47,785). However, the children have yet to receive the money since they will have wait until they turn 18, and are currently being aided by the support of the London-based charity British Pakistani Christian Association.
Even worse - none of the 44 Muslims arrested following the deaths of the two Christians have been convicted, according to a report from Fox News. It is believed the couple were paying off their debts to the brick kiln owner - a man named Mohammed Yousuf, who fabricated the story leading to their death.
Accusations of blasphemy often incite violence against Christians in Pakistan, a country ranking 6th on Open Doors' list of countries where Christians are most persecuted.
A 16 year-old Christian boy is currently awaiting trial after being arrested for a Facebook post deemed blasphemous by local Muslims.
In 2014, a rioting mob killed a woman and her two children in Gujranwala after posting an allegedly blasphemous post on social media, The Independent reported.
According to the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the Pakistani government continues to "perpetrate and tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations."
