Current

Name: Anwaar Ahmed Country/Area of Origin: Islamabad, Pakistan Background: Anwaar Ahmed’s case also includes Abdul Waheed, Nasir Ahmad, and Rana Nouman Rafaqat Reason for Arrest: In 2017, Urdu professor and lecturer at Islamabad Model College, Anwaar Ahmed, was arrested after he was filmed in a viral video making controversial and blasphemous remarks during one of […]

Name: Nasir Ahmad Country/Area of Origin: Islamabad, Pakistan Background: Nasir Ahmad’s case also includes Abdul Waheed, Rana Nouman Rafaqat, and Anwaar Ahmed Reason for Arrest: In 2017, Ahmad was arrested after he had reportedly posted a blasphemous video onto YouTube; meanwhile, Rafaqat and Waheed were arrested after accusations were raised that they had been posting

Name: Abdul Waheed Country/Area of Origin: Islamabad, Pakistan Background: Abdul Waheed’s case also includes Rana Nouman Rafaqat, Nasir Ahmad, and Anwaar Ahmed Reason for Arrest: In 2017, Waheed was arrested after accusations were raised that he and Rana Nouman Rafaqat had been posting blasphemous content on social media; meanwhile, Nasir Ahmad had reportedly posted a

Name: Rana Nouman Rafaqat Country/Area of Origin: Islamabad, Pakistan Background: Rana Nouman Rafaqat’s case also includes Abdul Waheed, Nasir Ahmad, and Anwaar Ahmed Reason for Arrest: In 2017, Rafaqat was arrested after accusations were raised that he and Abdul Waheed had been posting blasphemous content on social media; meanwhile, Nasir Ahmad had reportedly posted a

Name: Aneeqa Ateeq Country/Area of Origin: Rawalpindi, Pakistan Background: Ateeq is a 26-year-old Muslim woman from Rawalpindi, Pakistan Reason for Arrest: In May 2020, Rawalpindi authorities arrested Aneqa Ateeq on charges of committing blasphemy by sharing allegedly insulting images and remarks about the Prophet Muhammad and one of his wives as her Facebook and WhatsApp

Name: Asif Pervaiz Country/Area of Origin: Lahore, Pakistan Background: Pervaiz is a Christian man who, at the time of his arrest, had recently quit his job at a garment factory named Shami Textile, located in Lahore’s Youhanabad neighborhood. Reason for Arrest: In early October 2013, Asif Pervaiz’s former work supervisor, Muhammad Saeed Khokher, accused Pervaiz

Name: Junaid Hafiz Country/Area of Origin: Multan, Pakistan Background: Prior to his arrest, Hafiz was a lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan Reason for Arrest: In March 2013, Pakistani authorities arrested Hafiz after he was accused of allegedly insulting the Prophet and the Holy Qur’an both verbally and on Facebook. In 2014, Hafiz’s first

Name: Ashfaq Masih Country/Area of Origin: Lahore, Pakistan Background: Masih is a Pentecostal Christian mechanic and the owner of a bicycle repair shop in Lahore, Pakistan. Reason for Arrest: In 2017, Masih served a Muslim customer who then refused to pay the bicycle repair charges in full amount on account that he was a “poor

Name: Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh Country/Area of Origin: Rasht, Iran Background: Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh is an Iranian Christian convert and member of the non-Trinitarian Church of Iran Reason for Arrest: On 5 September 2021, Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh was arrested alongside two other Christian convert men, Morteza Mashoodkari and Ahmad Sarparast, both of whom are members of the same church. Iranian

Name: Morteza Mashoodkari Country/Area of Origin: Rasht, Iran Background: Morteza Mashoodkari is an Iranian Christian convert and member of the non-Trinitarian Church of Iran Reason for Arrest: On 5 September 2021, Morteza Mashoodkari was arrested alongside two other Christian convert men, Ahmad Sarparast and Ayoob Poor-Rezazadeh, both of whom are members of the same church.