Pakistan court jails Chinese national charged with blasphemy
By RIAZ KHAN
Associated Press
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court has ruled that a Chinese national arrested on blasphemy charges be held in jail for two weeks, pending trial. Under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, anyone convicted of the offense can be sentenced to death. The Chinese man, identified by police only as Tian, was arrested on Sunday night, hours after hundreds of residents and laborers working on a dam project in the town of Komela in northwestern Pakistan blocked a key highway and rallied to demand his arrest. A police officer said on Tuesday that Tian pleaded not guilty, insisting he did not insult Islam or the Prophet Muhammad.
