Pakistani oppositionists on Tuesday held a rally for a Christian sentenced to death on blasphemy charges for sharing “hateful content” against Muslims on social media. The Associated Press reported..
Nearly a year after the verdict was handed down, dozens of members of the country’s civil society held a protest in the southern port city of Karachi. One of the worst mob attacks against Christians The Associated Press reported that civil society groups in the country stand up For human rights in Pakistan.
The media reported that blasphemy charges are common in Pakistan and that under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious leaders can be sentenced to death.
The media reported that several Christians also participated in the rally. The rally came a day after a court in Sahiwal, Punjab province, sentenced Ehsan Shan to death. Shan’s lawyer, Khurram Shazad, said on Monday that Shan would appeal the sentence, according to the Associated Press.
More details from the outlet:
He was arrested in August 2023. Muslim men burned down dozens of houses and churches Police officers assaulted two Christian men in Jaranwala city in Punjab province after residents claimed they saw them desecrating pages of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, and subsequently arrested the men.
Shan was not involved in any blasphemy but was accused of reposting defaced pages of the Quran on his TikTok account.
Pakistani minority rights activists in Karachi on July 2, 2024 protested the death sentence given to a Christian man for sharing an allegedly blasphemous TikTok post. In an order issued July 1, an anti-terrorism court sentenced a Christian man for reposting an image of a torn and defaced Quran, according to local media. The man had originally been arrested on blasphemy charges, but the post included online denunciations against two Christian brothers who were released after investigators believed they had been framed for a personal grudge.Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images
Christian leader Luke Victor, speaking at a rally in Karachi on Tuesday, called for Shah’s release and also for action against those who burned down churches and Christian homes in Jaranwala, according to the Associated Press.
The media reported that blasphemy charges are common in Pakistan and that under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious leaders can be sentenced to death.
The AP added that while authorities have not yet carried out any executions for blasphemy, accusations of blasphemy alone can lead to riots, lynchings, murders and other violence.
How do observers respond?
Hundreds of comments were posted under an Associated Press article about the death penalty. Yahoo!NewsMany of them pointed to recent pro-Palestinian protests on US college campuses.
- “I’m sure college students will protest this,” one commenter sarcastically stated. “(Actually not really… they wouldn’t care).”
- “Ah, the religion of peace. Where is the anger on college campuses? Where is the United Nations? [International Criminal Court], [the] “What about the other ‘human rights defenders’?” another commenter wondered. “They’re all silent!”
- “These are the very people the Squad and campus protesters are trying to help. The nicest people on the planet!,” another commenter sarcastically stated. “(They’ll attack me if I don’t say this!)
- “I wonder how many of the pro-Palestinian protesters are responding to what’s going on here, or if their myopic worldview only applies to the Gaza Strip,” another commenter wondered.
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