Pakistani court frees 20 in killing of Christian couple case
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A Pakistani court has acquitted twenty people suspected of involvement in the lynching and burning alive of a Christian couple accused of blasphemy in 2014.
Shahzad Masih, 26, and Shama Shahzad, 24, brick factory workers and parents of three, were burned alive in an industrial kiln by a mob incited by accusations that the couple desecrated the Quran in the town of Kot Radha Kishan.
Police arrested scores of villagers and a court in Nov 2016 sentenced five men to death while ten others were given varying jail terms.
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Prosecutor Abdur Rauf says the court Saturday acquitted twenty suspects indicted in the case at a later stage.
Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan and a mere allegation can often prompt mob violence.