A court in Pakistan has handed down a death sentence to a 22-year-old student on charges of blasphemy over WhatsApp messages.
The Punjab Province court found him guilty of sharing blasphemous images and videos with the aim of offending the religious sentiments of Muslims.
In the same case, a 17-year-old received a life sentence. Both individuals have denied the allegations against them.
The complaint was filed in 2022 by the cybercrime unit of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore, the capital of Punjab.
The case was referred to a local court in the city of Gujranwala.
In the ruling this week, the judges said the 22-year-old was sentenced to death for preparing photos and videos that contained derogatory words about Prophet Muhammad and his wives.
The younger defendant was given a life sentence for sharing the material.
“The other student was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty because he is a minor,” the court said.
Defence lawyers argued that the two students had been “trapped in a false case”.
Blasphemy in Pakistan is a deeply sensitive and controversial issue. The country’s blasphemy laws, primarily embodied in Sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, carry severe penalties, including the death penalty, for those convicted of insulting Islam, its Prophet Muhammad, or the Quran. Some people have been lynched even before their cases go on trial.
Recalling months ago, churches and homes were burned in the eastern city of Jaranwala after two Christian men were accused of damaging the Quran.
SOURCE: BBC
