A Pakistani court on Wednesday sentenced a 40-year-old Christian mother to death for allegedly blaspheming the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.
Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka sentenced Shagufta Kiran to death using Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws. Kiran’s lawyers plan to appeal the decision.
“We feel it’s a wrong judgment based on prejudice,” Kiran’s attorney, Rana Abdul Hameed, stated in a UCA news report. “The judge didn’t bother to look at the evidence or conduct a proper analysis.”
Charges against Kiran allegedly included “intending to outrage religious feelings” and “insulting the Prophet Muhammad,” among others.
The mother of four reportedly forwarded a WhatsApp message in September 2020 containing content deemed blasphemous against Muhammad.
Kiran was a part of several WhatsApp groups where she discussed and defended her Christian faith. Shiraz Ahmed Farooqi, a Muslim member of one of the groups, lodged a complaint against Kiran for disrespecting the prophet with her forwarded message.
Pakistani authorities arrested Kiran on July 29, 2021, in Islamabad after screenshots of the message were sent to investigators.
Kiran denies any wrongdoing, stating she wasn’t the post’s original author and that she forwarded the post “without reading it,” Christian Daily International reported. Her husband, Rafique Masih, stated that the message had “been forwarded many times” before his wife’s arrest and raised concerns over the motivation for his wife’s detainment. Reports of blasphemy charges being levied against individuals as a device for settling disputes within Pakistan are numerous.
A United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report from December 2023 stated, “In many cases, there is no punishment for those who offer false accusations or perpetrate vigilante violence” against the accused.
The report additionally stated that, since 1987, more than 2,000 individuals “have been accused of blasphemy,” and 40 are currently facing the death penalty.
