Charges in church blasts

Malaysian government prosecutors have charged three Muslim men with allegedly attacking a church with a firebomb.

They are the first suspects to be taken to court in connection to a string of assaults on places of worship amid a dispute over whether non-Muslims can use the word “Allah” to refer to God.

Government lawyer Anselm Charles Fernandis says the three suspects pleaded innocent Friday to starting a fire that partially gutted a Protestant church Jan. 8.

The suspects, in their 20s, face a maximum prison sentence of up to 20 years. Eleven churches were attacked in the past three weeks.