A GRANDFATHER jailed under Pakistan's blasphemy laws is fighting for his life in hospital and another man has been killed after they were shot at, apparently by a policeman, in prison.
Mohammad Asghar, from Edinburgh, was injured and Christian pastor Zafar Bhatti died in the attack by a Pakistani policeman, lawyers and an activist said.
Mr Asghar, 70, was arrested in 2010 in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, for claiming to be the Prophet Mohammed in letters sent to various officials, according to prosecutor Javed Gul.
However, a lawyer who defended Mr Asghar said he suffers from mental illness and the case was really a property dispute. The blasphemy complaint was brought against Mr Asghar by a tenant of his.
Mr Ashgar was sentenced to death in January following a trial. An appeal was lodged with Lahore High Court in February this year, the charity Reprieve said, and his family have appealed to the UK Government to do everything it can to make sure he is safe.
Reprieve said yesterday he was in a critical condition in hospital.
Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at Reprieve, said: "This appalling attack shows that the only way to ensure Mr Asghar's safety is to have him returned home to Britain.
"Mr Asghar is a vulnerable 70-year-old man suffering from severe mental illness - a fact which has been consistently ignored by the Pakistani courts during his four-year ordeal.
"David Cameron said he was 'deeply concerned' about his case earlier this year - but now we must see concrete action to ensure Mr Asghar's safety."
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office said: "We have raised our concerns with the local authorities at a senior level."
David Griffiths, Asia-Pacific deputy director at Amnesty International, called for a "prompt and thorough investigation".
He said: "The fact is that he should never have ended up in death row in the first place. It is abhorrent that a man with serious mental health problems could face the gallows for writing a series of letters. Mohammad Asghar should be released immediately and have his sentence quashed.
"Repeal of the blasphemy laws is needed now more than ever."
Bhatti, who worked to protect the human rights of Pakistan's beleaguered Christian minority, was on trial after an Islamic leader accused him in 2012 of sending text messages derogatory to the Prophet Mohammed's mother.
His family say police investigations show the phone was registered to someone else.
In recent weeks, Bhatti had received death threats in prison from both inmates and guards, his family told Pakistan-based human rights group Life for All. He was being held in the same cell as Asghar.
"This is a barbaric act. There had been threats. The court should have instructed police to ensure Bhatti's safety," said Xavier Williams of Life for All.
"Killing of a person who was falsely accused is mockery of the judicial system."
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