A student in Pakistan was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges over Whatsapp messages, according to a report by the BBC on March 8th.
Pakistani student sentenced to death over ‘blasphemous’ WhatsApp messages https://t.co/67BuCHkCFx pic.twitter.com/02xSyL4wOA
— New York Post (@nypost) March 10, 2024
A court in the province of Punjab in central Pakistan handed the death sentence to a 22-year-old student after being accused of blasphemy over photos and videos on WhatsApp that contained derogatory words about the Prophet Muhammad.
Another student, 17, was also accused of blasphemy and sentenced to life in prison instead of death because the defendant was a minor.
The action was taken against the student after the cybercrime unit of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore filed a complaint in 2022. The FIA examined the complainant’s phone and found that "obscene material" had been sent to him.
Why can't our leaders #RepealBlapshemyLaw?
The death sentence is not a joke; the state is killing a student.
How is this fair or just?— Imtiaz Abbasi (@ImtiazAbbasi751) March 12, 2024
The lawyer of the two students said they have been "trapped in a false case," adding that the father of the student who is on death row will appeal the decision to the Lahore High Court.
Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. But despite reports of some people being sentenced to death for blasphemy charges, no one has been executed so far. However, mere accusations of blasphemy can lead to violence, and many of those accused have faced the wrath of angry mobs.
Last February, a Pakistani woman was saved from an angry mob by police officers after she was accused of blasphemy for wearing a dress with Arabic calligraphy in it. It was later determined that the Arabic calligraphy in her dress translated to the word “sweet” or “beautiful” in Arabic and did not contain any verses from the Quran.
This is why the Quran is burnt in Sweden and Norway.
— Shane (@ShannonWea97159) March 11, 2024
Another prominent case of lynching in Pakistan linked to blasphemy accusations is the case of 49-year-old Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan factory manager who was lynched to death by an angry mob after being accused of blasphemy for removing a poster with religious content in the city of Sialkot.
In August last year, more than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalized after two Christians were reportedly accused of desecrating the Quran.
