CHRISTIAN COUPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN BLASPHEMY CASE

[sree45]

SHAFQAT EMMANUEL AND SHAGUFTA KAUSAR ARE ACCUSED OF SENDING A BLASPHEMOUS TEXT MESSAGE TO A LOCAL CLERIC IN GOJRA.
A court has sentenced a Christian couple to death for sending a blasphemous text message insulting Islam’s Prophet, their lawyer said Saturday.

Judge Mian Amir Habib handed the death sentence to Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar in a jail in the town of Toba Tek Singh on Friday, said defense lawyer Nadeem Hassan. Prosecution department officials confirmed the sentence.

The impoverished couple, who are in their forties, have three children and live in the town of Gojra, which has a history of violence against Christians, Hassan said. Both denied the charges, Hassan said, adding that they would appeal the sentence.

Maulvi Mohammad Hussain, the prayer leader at a local mosque in Gojra, lodged a complaint against the couple on July 21 last year for sending him a text message which he said was insulting to Islam’s Prophet. Hussain accused the husband of sending the message from his wife’s cellphone.

However, defense lawyer Hassan said that the text originated from a cellphone that the couple had lost some time before the incident, so they could not have sent the message. The defense lawyer said that the couple had suspected rivals of implicating them in the blasphemy case to settle personal scores, adding that they had ties with the complainant.

In 2009 a mob attacked a Christian neighborhood in Gojra and burned 77 houses and killed at least seven people after rumors that a Quran had been desecrated.

On March 27 another Christian man Sawan Masih was sentenced to death in Lahore for insulting Islam’s Prophet during the course of a conversation with a Muslim friend in the Joseph Colony neighborhood in March last year.

Some 97 percent of Pakistan’s 180 million population are Muslim, and even unproven allegations can trigger a violent public response.

Christian Couple Sentenced to Death in Blasphemy Case ‹ Newsweek Pakistan

In India, at least the judiciary doesn't discriminate between Hindus and Muslims.

 

[he-man]

SHAFQAT EMMANUEL AND SHAGUFTA KAUSAR ARE ACCUSED OF SENDING A BLASPHEMOUS TEXT MESSAGE TO A LOCAL CLERIC IN GOJRA.
A court has sentenced a Christian couple to death for sending a blasphemous text message insulting Islam’s Prophet, their lawyer said Saturday.

Judge Mian Amir Habib handed the death sentence to Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar in a jail in the town of Toba Tek Singh on Friday, said defense lawyer Nadeem Hassan. Prosecution department officials confirmed the sentence.

The impoverished couple, who are in their forties, have three children and live in the town of Gojra, which has a history of violence against Christians, Hassan said. Both denied the charges, Hassan said, adding that they would appeal the sentence.

Maulvi Mohammad Hussain, the prayer leader at a local mosque in Gojra, lodged a complaint against the couple on July 21 last year for sending him a text message which he said was insulting to Islam’s Prophet. Hussain accused the husband of sending the message from his wife’s cellphone.

However, defense lawyer Hassan said that the text originated from a cellphone that the couple had lost some time before the incident, so they could not have sent the message. The defense lawyer said that the couple had suspected rivals of implicating them in the blasphemy case to settle personal scores, adding that they had ties with the complainant.

In 2009 a mob attacked a Christian neighborhood in Gojra and burned 77 houses and killed at least seven people after rumors that a Quran had been desecrated.

On March 27 another Christian man Sawan Masih was sentenced to death in Lahore for insulting Islam’s Prophet during the course of a conversation with a Muslim friend in the Joseph Colony neighborhood in March last year.

Some 97 percent of Pakistan’s 180 million population are Muslim, and even unproven allegations can trigger a violent public response.

Christian Couple Sentenced to Death in Blasphemy Case ‹ Newsweek Pakistan

In India, at least the judiciary doesn't discriminate between Hindus and Muslims.

Although india is also fucked up but this is just stupid

 

[Tomcats]

Pakistan overturns Christian couple's blasphemy death sentences

A Pakistani court has overturned a death sentence handed down to a Christian couple for blasphemy, citing a lack of evidence.
Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel were convicted in 2014 for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
But on Thursday, the couple's lawyer Saif ul Malook said the Lahore High Court had acquitted them.
A prosecution lawyer told the Reuters news agency that the latest ruling would be challenged.
Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan, and though no-one has ever been executed for it, dozens have been killed by mobs after being accused.

• Pakistan 'blasphemy' death row couple's plea for freedom
• Why Pakistan's Christians are targeted
• Blasphemy laws around the world

"I am very happy that we were able to get the release of this couple who are some of the most helpless people in our society," Mr Malook told the AFP news agency.

He said he expected the pair to be freed next week after the court orders are published.
Human rights groups have welcomed the ruling.
"Today's decision puts an end to the seven-year long ordeal of a couple who should not have been convicted nor faced a death sentence in the first place," Amnesty International's South Asia Deputy Director Dinushika Dissanayake said in a statement.
What were the couple accused of?
The married couple were convicted in 2014 of sending blasphemous text messages insulting the Prophet Muhammad to a local imam from a phone number registered in Ms Kausar's name.
But her brother told the BBC last year that the couple were innocent, and he doubted they were literate enough even to have written the abusive messages.
Ms Kausar worked as a caretaker in a Christian school, whilst her husband is partially paralysed.

• Asia Bibi: Pakistan's notorious blasphemy case
• Acquitted of blasphemy and living in fear in Pakistan
• The last hours of a Christian sanitary worker

Human rights groups say blasphemy allegations are frequently used to settle personal scores or target religious minorities
The couple's lawyer told the BBC last year that in their trial they suggested a Christian neighbour they had argued with might have purchased a SIM card in Shagufta Kausar's name and sent the messages in order to frame them.
In April, the European Parliament passed a motion condemning Pakistan for failing to protect religious minorities, focusing on the case of Ms Kausar and Mr Emmanuel.
Blasphemy convictions are often eventually overturned on appeal in Pakistan. Last year, Asia Bibi left the country after more than a decade in prison, having been acquitted by the Supreme Court. The verdict led to violent protests by hardline religious groups.

Pakistan overturns Christian couple's blasphemy death sentences

Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel were convicted in 2014 for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

www.bbc.com

 

[Trango Towers]

Pakistani justice is a so pathetic and non existant