MOSCOW, September 25 (RIA Novosti) - An elderly, mentally ill British man convicted to death for blasphemy in Pakistan was shot and injured on Thursday by a local police officer, the legal charity Reprieve reported.
"The attack took place this morning, at around 0830 local time, within Adiala Jail. Mr Asghar is now receiving treatment in hospital, where he is said to be in critical condition," the organization wrote.
Mohammad Asghar, a 70-year-old British national, was arrested in the city of Rawalpindi some 14 kilometers south of Pakistan's capital Islamabad in September 2010. He was sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy law in January this year.
Asghar, who also holds Pakistani nationality, was accused of sending letters to local officials claiming to be a prophet. According to legal charity Reprieve, which assists the elderly man, he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and has spent long periods of time in various mental institutions.
"Mr Asghar is a vulnerable, seventy-year old man suffering from severe mental illness – a fact which has been consistently ignored by the Pakistani courts during his four year ordeal," Maya Foa, Director of Reprieve's death penalty team, is quoted as saying by the charity.
Reprieve has repeatedly expressed great concern over Asghar's health and detention conditions, blaming Pakistani authorities for failing to recognize his mental illness and provide him with necessary health care.
According to the charity, lawyers acting for the elderly Briton have filed an appeal against his conviction, but it may take up to five years for the case to be processed by Pakistan's High Court.
