Christian teenager in Pakistan faces possible death sentence for allegedly burning Quran

Pakistani authorities have arrested an 18-year-old Christian on blasphemy charges for allegedly burning pages of the Quran outside a shrine.

Asif Massih, who was arrested on the night of Aug. 12, was charged under section 295-B of Pakistan's penal code, a part of the country's constitution that mandates the death sentence for anyone who damages or desecrates the Quran.

According to Al Jazeera, the incident occurred in Jam Kayk Chattha village, near the town of Wazirabad in central Punjab province.

Local police official Muhammad Asghar at the Alipur Chattha police station confirmed that the teenager has been detained. Pervaiz Iqbal, who is in charge of investigating the case, said that Massih had to be secretly moved to the police station because an angry mob had been demanding for the teenager to be handed over to them.

"When the police took the suspect into custody and brought him to a police check-post, a crowd of around 200 men gathered outside ... demanding the culprit be handed over to them," Pervaiz told Agence France-Presse.

"We then secretly moved the culprit to the police station in Wazirabad where he was interrogated and confessed to his crime," he added.

Massih will reportedly face the possibility of being put to death if convicted. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that there are 40 people who are currently on death row or serving life sentences in Pakistan for blasphemy.

Punishment for blasphemy in Pakistan ranges from a fine to a death sentence, but right-wing vigilantes and mobs are increasingly taking the law into their own hands. Figures compiled by Al Jazeera has indicated that at least 71 people have been killed by mobs over alleged blasphemy since 1990.

In April, a university student named Mashal Khan was killed by a violent mob after he was accused of committing blasphemy in the northern city of Mardan.

Some legal experts and human rights activists have called on the Pakistani government to amend or abolish the country's blasphemy laws, arguing that it is being misused to settle scores against the accused.

"This law is being misused by people to take revenge against their opponents, and it is very easy to charge anyone for blasphemy," said Mehdi Hasan, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Earlier this month, a high court judge urged the Parliament to include terrorism charges against those accused of blasphemy.

The recommendation was made by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court, who also suggested that those who falsely accuse others of blasphemy should be punished. He recommended that the punishment for those who falsely accuse people of blasphemy should be equal to those convicted of blasphemy.

Siddiqui's recommendation has been met with opposition from some lawyers, including Senior attorney of the Supreme Court Saif-ul-Malook, who said that the judge was stepping out of his jurisdiction by suggesting application of the anti-terrorism law in blasphemy cases.

"The Supreme Court of Pakistan has clearly defined that the anti-terrorism laws are applicable only on people accused of creating chaos or unrest in the country through acts of terrorism," he said. "In cases involving blasphemy, an accused is simply exercising his right of free speech by giving his opinion on any religious personality, which by no means falls under the definition of terrorism," he added.