SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES / STOCK
MANILA, Philippines — A Pakistani national is seeking refugee status in the Philippines and has elevated his case to the Supreme Court after the Department of Justice-Refugees and Stateless Persons Protection Unit (DOJ-RSPPU) denied his application for refugee status in March 2017 for his failure to adequately establish he was in danger of being persecuted.
The Court of Appeals upheld the DOJ-RSPPU’s ruling. Rehman Sabir, a Christian, fled to the Philippines after accidentally dropping the Koran while he was aggressively being invited to convert to Islam in 2016, according to the Supreme Court.
Sabir said dropping the Quran could be a basis for criminal charges under Pakistan Blasphemy Law and claimed he was in danger of being killed by the local Muslim community.
Under the Blasphemy law in Pakistan, a person who intentionally desecrates a Quran can be jailed for life.