A Christian in Pakistan had his arms chopped off with an axe for refusing to convert to Islam, it was reported in July.
But it is believed that his attackers are unlikely to face justice due to pro-Islamic bias. On 24 June, Aqueel Mashi was working at a petrol pump when two Muslim men asked him to go with them to their town for minor repairs on another vehicle. The men hacked off his arms during an ensuing argument – Mr Mashi was taken to hospital and was unconscious on arrival.
In July he registered a complaint at a police station, but they were initially unwilling to accept the full story, for fear of not being able to register the crime or of harsher treatment.
Conflicting accounts
There have been conflicting accounts in Pakistani media. It has been suggested that Mr Masih fabricated the story and that the argument was over a drugs deal gone wrong.
The local police also distributed a counter press release stating that Mr Masih had been in a train accident and was a heavy drug user, despite the lack of a report from the train authorities or a professional medical report.
Three men have been arrested and are in custody while they are being investigated.
