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Today, a Pakistani court sentenced a Christian to death after convicting him of sending text messages with “blasphemous content.” Authorities have arrested Asif Parvez, 37, since 2013, following blasphemy charges brought against him by an official at a factory where he worked.
Saif al-Molouk, Pervez’s lawyer, told AFP that his client denied all the charges against him and said he only forwarded the relevant text messages. Al-Muluk added: “The judge should have rejected this case” and indicated that he would appeal the verdict to the Lahore High Court.
He continued, “He has already spent seven years waiting for the court’s decision. Who knows how many years he will spend waiting for this to end?”
Blasphemy is a very sensitive subject in Pakistan, where unproven accusations of insulting Islam or Islamic figures can cause violence and even death.
Pervez alleges that his supervisor, who was trying to convince him to convert to Islam, accused him of blasphemy after he left his job at the factory.
Religious minorities, including Christians, are the most threatened by blasphemous violations, with Christians making up less than 2 percent of Pakistan’s population of over 200 million, but they are among the lowest social classes in the country. .
About 80 people are in Pakistani prisons on charges of blasphemy, and half of them face two life sentences or the death penalty, according to the US Committee for International Religious Freedom.
And at the end of last July, a Pakistani belonging to the Ahmadiyya Community was shot and killed inside a court in Peshawar, northern Pakistan.
For its part, the United Nations today condemned the increasing attacks on journalists and activists in Pakistan for allegations of blasphemy, and urged Islamabad to protect those facing threats and investigate acts of violence against them.
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