Pak court awards death sentence, 80-yr-imprisonment to four over blasphemy

A Pakistani court has awarded a death sentence and 80-year imprisonment to four persons for uploading blasphemous content on Facebook, an official said on Saturday.

Additional Sessions Judge Mohammad Tariq Ayub on Friday convicted four suspects -- Wajid Ali, Ahfaq Ali Saqib, Rana Usman and Suleman Sajid -- for insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), his companions, and his wives.

The court official said the convicts uploaded blasphemous content on Facebook from four different IDs.

"The judge after hearing arguments of both prosecution and defence and witnesses accounts awarded the death penalty and 80 years imprisonment to each of them on different counts," the official said.

 

They were also slapped with a fine of PKR 5.2 million.

Pakistan's Federal Investigation (FIA) Cybercrime registered a case under Section 11 of the PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) and 295A, 295B, 295C, 298A, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Shiraz Farooqi, a citizen.

According to Amnesty International, Pakistan's blasphemy laws are often used against religious minorities and others who are the target of false accusations, while emboldening vigilantes prepared to threaten or kill the accused.

There is overwhelming evidence that Pakistan's blasphemy laws violate human rights and encourage people to take the law into their own hands. Once a person is accused, they become ensnared in a system that offers them few protections, presumes them guilty, and fails to safeguard them against people willing to use violence, it said.

Amnesty International added that in perversion of the justice system, the accused are often presumed to be guilty based on little or no evidence.

"Once an accusation of blasphemy is made, the police can arrest the accused, without even checking to see if the charges make sense. Bowing to public pressure from angry crowds, including religious clerics and their supporters, they frequently pass cases on to prosecutors without scrutinising the evidence. And once someone is charged, they can be denied bail and face lengthy and unfair trials," it said.