Pakistani police charge 23 people with being part of a mob that murdered a blasphemy suspect

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police have arrested 23 people on suspicion of being part of a mob that killed a man suspected of desecrating the Koran, Islam’s holy book, officials said Monday.

The suspects were accused of murder and burning down a police station in Madyan, a tourist town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, where the mob killed the man and burned his body on Thursday.

Police initially identified the murdered man as Mohammad Ismail, but on Monday after an investigation, they said his name was Mohammad Salman. They said his family had not yet contacted police to receive his body.

There was no official statement from the police in Punjab, where the man lived.

However, Salman’s mother said in a short video statement that her son was a drug addict and had beaten her, and that she had thrown him out of the family home because of his violent behavior. She said she was a Muslim and her family was not responsible for any of Salman’s wrongdoings.

In Madyan, regional police chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur said on Monday that police had arrested 23 suspects and further raids were underway to arrest anyone involved in Salman’s murder.

Salman was staying in a hotel in Madyan when a mob accused him of blasphemy.

Authorities said he was taken into custody for his own protection and was being interrogated by police on Thursday when a mob gathered outside Madyan police station demanding his extradition so they could immediately punish him for allegedly burning pages from the Koran.

According to police and government officials, the police tried to assure the mob that Salman would be brought to justice if he committed blasphemy. However, the angry mob refused to accept these assurances and attacked the police station, injuring several police officers.

The mob grabbed the man, killed him publicly and burned his body.

Blasphemy accusations are widespread in Pakistan. Under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death. Although authorities have not yet carried out a death sentence for blasphemy, accusations of blasphemy can lead to riots and incite mob violence.

Last month, a mob in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province attacked a 72-year-old Christian after accusing him of desecrating pages of the Koran. He later died in hospital.