A court in Rawalpindi on Wednesday sentenced a Muslim woman to death after finding her guilty of sending blasphemous material via WhatsApp.
According to a summary released by the sessions court, the 26-year-old woman was arrested in May 2020 and accused of posting “blasphemous material” in the form of her WhatsApp status. When a friend urged him to change it, he sent the material to him instead.
The court ordered that the woman be “hanged by her neck till she dies” with 20 years in prison and a fine of Rs 200,000.
According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, more than 80 people in Pakistan are known to be jailed for blasphemy – half of whom face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
While fellow Muslims are to blame in many cases, rights activists warn that religious minorities – especially Christians – are often caught in the crossfire, using accusations of blasphemy to settle personal scores.
In December, a Sri Lankan factory manager working in Sialkot was beaten to death and set on fire By the crowd after being accused of blasphemy.
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