A 22-year-old student in Pakistan has been sentenced to death on charges of blasphemy over Whatsapp. A court in Pakistan’s Punjab province said that the student was sharing photos and videos that contained derogatory words about Prophet Muhammad.
Another student aged 17, was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty because he is a juvenile.
In Pakistan, there is a death penalty for the practice of blasphemy. Though many accused have been lynched by enraged mobs, no one has been put to death by the state as a result of it thus far.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore, Pakistan’s cybercrime unit, filed a complaint in 2022, which prompted the action against the student. According to the complaint, he obtained the images and videos from three distinct cell phone numbers. The father of the student who is facing the death penalty intends to file an appeal with the Lahore High Court, according to the lawyers defending the kids, who argue they are caught up in a fabricated case.
There has been tension in Pakistan over claims of blasphemy, and this incident is part of a pattern. Following allegations against two Christian brothers in August 2023, over 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalized. In a well-known case, a Christian lady named Asia Bibi had her death sentence reversed and left the nation following a blasphemy argument that lasted ten years.
