Four men get death for ‘online blasphemy’


A court here has sentenced four men to death for posting blasphemous content online, a member of a group of “vigilante” private lawyers that brought the prosecution said.

The four men were sentenced in Rawalpindi, the garrison city that neighbours the capital Islamabad, Rao Abdur Raheem, a lawyer from the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan (LCBP), said.

Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unsubstantiated accusations can incite public outrage and lead to lynchings.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in the prosecution of “online blasphemy” cases, with private groups bringing charges against hundreds of young individuals for allegedly committing blasphemy.

“They were sentenced to death... on Friday for spreading blasphemous content online against the Prophet Mohammed and the Koran,” Raheem said on Monday.

“Our case was supported by forensic evidence from the devices used in this heinous act,” he said of one of the LCBP’s latest prosecutions.

Despite the conviction, Pakistan has never executed anyone for blasphemy.

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A member of a support group formed by the families confirmed the sentence and said the group would challenge the conviction.

“The pattern of arrests and prosecutions in this case is consistent with previous ones,” said the support group member, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

“We urge the government to establish a commission to investigate the rise in these cases before these young individuals spend the best years of their lives behind bars.”

Many of the online blasphemy cases are being brought to trial by private “vigilante groups” led by lawyers and supported by volunteers who scour the Internet for offenders, rights groups and police say. — AFP

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