A Catholic man has been jailed in Pakistan after accidentally stepping on pages of the Quran, according to Christian Daily International–Morning Star News.
Dennis Albert, 35, reportedly found himself in legal crosshairs in April after exiting his pull car and inadvertently standing on papers said to have come from the Islamic holy book.
Albert has since been jailed on blasphemy charges. He could face 10 years behind bars for “hurting religious sentiments.”
But it’s the second charge—“defiling the Quran”—that could land him with a sentence of life behind bars.
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The entire legal case against Albert is purportedly based on a passerby’s testimony that he saw him standing on papers belonging to the Quran. The accused’s brother, Imran Albert, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News what he believes actually unfolded.
“My brother says that his shoes were in the rickshaw, and when he stepped out of his three-wheeler to wait for a new customer, he inadvertently stepped on some pieces of paper on the roadside,” Imran said. “Dennis didn’t [know] that the pages were Islamic scripture.”
Muslims who observed the scene reportedly assaulted Albert, despite his purported attempts to explain that the situation was a misunderstanding.
Asad Jamal, Albert’s attorney, called the charges against his client “ridiculous, to say the least.”
“There’s nothing that proves that Dennis has committed the act intentionally,” Jamal said. “It seems that some individuals and groups have launched a campaign to target innocent people with blasphemy charges.”
As for Albert’s mindset, Imran said his brother is “losing hope for his freedom” as the case drags on.
To read the full story, visit our content partners at CBN News.
Reprinted with permission from cbn.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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