Nabeel Masih, a Christian from Punjab’s Kasur district, died of acute liver failure on 31 July after years of suffering under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. He spent four and a half years in prison, during which his mental and physical health declined, followed by over four years on bail waiting for his appeal to be heard.

Nabeel was imprisoned in September 2016 after he was accused of sharing a Facebook post that “defamed and disrespected” the Kaaba in Mecca, Islam’s holiest site. At the time of his arrest he was only 16 and illiterate, and he said Muslim friends set up the account in his name and posted the image.

Following the accusation local mosques broadcast calls for Nabeel to be killed and a mob of over one thousand Islamists gathered and threatened to lynch his family at their home in the village of Dina Nath.

In May 2018, despite the weakness of the case against Nabeel, he was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to ten years in prison, becoming the youngest person ever convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan. Years of solitary confinement, poor nutrition, contaminated water and stress destroyed Nabeel’s health and prison authorities denied him treatment for large, painful lipomas that had developed on his legs and back.

In March 2021 Lahore High Court Judge Javaid Gaddal ordered that Nabeel be released on bail because there was no evidence that he had committed the crime. He was reunited with his family and taken to a place of safety while his lawyers worked to have him acquitted. Nabeel’s appeal hearings were repeatedly postponed and each time he attended court his life was at risk from Islamist extremists who gathered to intimidate and threaten his family and legal team.

Failing health

Following Nabeel’s release on bail he had surgery to remove the lipomas – Church in Chains paid for his treatment as well as for a bulletproof vest to wear when he attended court. Nabeel had further surgery in April 2025 to remove more lipomas.

In June 2025 Nabeel began suffering from jaundice, vomiting, yellowing of the eyes and extreme weakness and the British Asian Christian Association reported that test results showed a dangerously high bilirubin level. He was diagnosed with acute Hepatitis E and was admitted to hospital, where his condition stabilised.

In July, however, Nabeel’s condition deteriorated rapidly and he lost the ability to walk or speak and was transferred to ICU. He made a brief recovery, regaining consciousness and the ability to eat, drink and walk, and was transferred back to a general medical ward, but by late July doctors observed fluid accumulation in his abdomen and he was diagnosed with ascites, a complication of liver failure.

On 29 July Nabeel lost consciousness again and was transferred back to the ICU. He was put on a ventilator but he died at 4 am on 31 July.

(British Asian Christian Association, International Christian Concern)

Photo: British Asian Christian Association