Pakistani Man Abducted, Killed After Blasphemy Acquittal

January 08, 2015

Gunmen in Pakistan have killed a man who had been acquitted two weeks ago on blasphemy charges and freed from prison after a court ruled he was mentally unstable.

Police on January 8 said the bullet-riddled body of 52-year-old Aabid Mehmood was found in the town of Taxila near Islamabad.

Police say he was abducted from his home by masked men on January 6 and was shot in the head and chest from close range.

Authorities were investigating whether Mehmood, who owned a hotel, was killed in a personal dispute.

Mehmood was arrested in October 2011 for blasphemy after his son-in-law alleged he had claimed he was a prophet.

When his body was brought to his village of Kamra, angry residents did not allow his relatives to bury him in the local graveyard.

Instead, he was buried in the courtyard of his home.

Based on reporting by Dawn and dpa