Pakistani Man Charged With Blasphemy Killed During Trial

Tahir Ahmad Naseem, a Pakistani man standing trial for claiming that he was a prophet, was shot dead on Wednesday during a court hearing. The shooter was immediately apprehended, and according to police reports explained that he committed the act to punish Naseem for his blasphemy, an offence punishable by death in Pakistan. While no citizen has yet been executed for blasphemous remarks, over the years civilians have taken the law into their own hands dozens of times, murdering suspects, their family members and even lawyers who have helped acquit them. Just last week, the province of Punjab passed a law handing the local government the authority to censor and remove any published material that it determines violates religious edicts.