A British man jailed for ‘posing as a Muslim’ in Pakistan, has spoken about his ordeal for the first time since returning to the UK.
Masud Ahmad was arrested in Pakistan in November under blasphemy laws, but fled while on bail.
The 73-year-old is part of the minority Ahmadiyya sect, who are considered heretics in Pakistan.
One of the restrictions on their religious freedom is that they cannot publicly recite the Koran.
According to the BBC, late last year, a young man posing as a patient visited Ahmad at his homeopathy clinic in Lahore.
The man then used a mobile phone to secretly film Ahmad reading the Koran and called the police to arrest him.
The grandfather-of-nine, now living with his children in Glasgow, was placed in a jail with other prisoners also charged under the country’s blasphemy law, the report said.
According to the report, Ahmad said that the jail was a small cell, 8ft by about 12ft and within it a toilet, adding that the prisoners had to sleep on the floor. The temperature was almost minus one degree in the night.
About 400 people protested outside the police station in which Ahmad was being held, demanding to see him.
He added that the protestors shouted and chanted to kill him.
Members of the Ahmadiyya community helped Ahmad flee the country after he was granted bail at a third attempt.
Ahmad said that he is still wanted in Pakistan as he was only given bail. Ahmadis are treated like animals.(ANI)