The Pakistani police have summarily executed a Christian Pastor.

Zafar Bhatti had been imprisoned since 2012 on charges that he has committed blasphemy for preaching Jesus was the only way.  The men had long been receiving death threats from fellow prisoners and guards because of their Christian faith.

“This is a barbaric act,” Xavier Williams of Life for All told The Express Tribune. “There had been threats. The court should have instructed police to ensure Bhatti’s safety.”

The country passed a blasphemy law claiming that it would be a tool to stop religious intolerance in the country.  However, Muslims have used the law as a way to take religious minorities to jail them, force them to convert to Islam or kill them.

“Unfortunately, pressure from Islamic radical groups and general discrimination against Christians in Pakistan has transformed trial courts into little more than rubber stamps for blasphemy accusations brought against Christians, regardless of the evidence brought to bear in the case,” William Stark of the International Christian Concern said.  “Also, little is done to ensure the safety of those merely accused of blasphemy, leading to the deaths of at least 48 people, many of whom could have been proven innocent.”

This is the second major incident involving Christians accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.  A Christian couple was sentenced to death in April for sending text messages that were called blasphemous by the court.  However, the couple has been proven to be illiterate, so they could not send text messages.  The death sentence is still in effect.