A Pakistani court last night sentenced a Christian woman to death for sharing blasphemous content on social networks, DPA reported, quoted by BTA, referring to the authorities and lawyers.
A court in the capital Islamabad found Shughufta Kiran guilty of sharing a post deemed offensive to the Muslim prophet Muhammad on the messaging platform WhatsApp four years ago. (WhatsApp), Judge Afza Majoka announced.
Kiran – a 30-year-old mother of four, was convicted after a three-year trial, Christian rights activist Faraz Pervez said. She has the right to appeal to a higher court as well as the Supreme Court, as well as petition the president for pardon, said lawyer Rizwan Khan.
The Christian woman is one of the few women from minority communities to be convicted under Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law, which carries the death penalty for insulting religion and prophets.
Asia Bibi, the first Christian woman and mother to be convicted of blasphemy, was released from a Pakistani prison in 2018. She was acquitted by the Supreme Court after spending nearly a decade on death row.
Bibi's desperate legal battle has drawn world attention to the South Asian country's blasphemy laws and their abuse by Muslims and Muslim groups against religious minorities, sometimes even to settle personal feuds.
Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, and those accused of such an offense can become targets of extremist Muslim groups. In some cases, victims are shot, buried alive or beaten to death with sops.
About 90 people accused of blasphemy have been killed in Pakistan since the 1980s by individuals or angry mobs, even before a court has ruled on their guilt.