VENGEANCE

Mob Kills Man Who Burned Koran

Book burner was "mentally unstable".

Concerns around Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws were intensified Saturday morning when a man being held in a police station for burning a copy of the Koran was himself burned by an angry mob. The man, described as "mentally unstable," was arrested Friday night after burning the holy book in a mosque where he was staying. As he was being held at the police station for questioning, a mob of about 200 people stormed the station, beat the man to death, and burned his body. This is not unheard of in Pakistan: the country's laws against nebulously defined blasphemy call for a death sentence or life in prison, although citizens often take the law into their own hands after an accusation.