Young Pakistani Christian sentenced to death over pictures on Whatsapp

by Shafique Khokhar
06/05/2023,

Lawyer's protest: contents found on phone, in four years failed to prove crime. False accusations of blasphemy against religious minorities in Pakistan are often made to settle personal vendettas, property disputes, religious prejudices or commercial rivalries.

Bahawalpur (AsiaNews) - A court in Bahawalpur in recent days handed down a death sentence by hanging to the young Christian Noman Masih, 22, who was accused of blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad for images received via Whatsapp in 2019.

Lazar Allah Rakha, Noman Masih's lawyer, said he was deeply disappointed with the verdict, as the prosecution failed to provide evidence of the blasphemy charge; nevertheless after four long years the court sentenced the young man to death.

Noman was charged with blasphemy for carrying blasphemous images on his mobile phone; the complaint was registered against him under Section 295-C, which provides for the death sentence. "Noman Masih's trial was concluded in January, but the court repeatedly postponed the verdict on various pretexts," Rakha said.

Minority rights activist Joseph Jansen said it is disturbing that a young Christian is sentenced to death for a crime without a fair investigation. False accusations of blasphemy against religious minorities are often made to settle personal vendettas, property disputes, religious prejudices or commercial rivalries.

At the same time, the abuse of the blasphemy laws (sections 295 to 298 of the PPC), which provide for severe penalties, has increased exponentially. Simple accusations of blasphemy have become a justification for attacking any accuser.

"Complainants and witnesses involved in making false accusations against the accused often enjoy impunity," Jansen added. Human rights activist Ilyas Samuel hoped that the High Court would annul the death sentence issued by Additional Judge Muhammad Hafeez Ur Rehman Khan and drop all charges against Noman.

Pakistan National Alliance for Minorities President Lala Robin Daniel said the issue of blasphemy is a very sensitive issue in the country. The highly inflammatory accusations have the potential to trigger lynch mobs. He said that these laws have massively affected Pakistan's marginalised Christian community and ruined the lives of many innocent people, and still no one is trying to change them. The government,' he concluded, 'must introduce a national action plan to counter the abuse of the blasphemy laws in the name of religion."