Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Death sentence for blasphemy

Expressindia.com reports:

"A Pakistani court handed down the death sentence to a man convicted of blasphemy on Wednesday, court officials said.

Shafeeq Lateef was charged with passing derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed and desecrating pages of the Quran near the city of Sialkot in Punjab province on March 17, 2006.

District and Sessions Judge Suhaib Ahmed Roomi of Sialkot awarded the death sentence to Lateef following his conviction for blasphemy. The judge gave him a separate life sentence for desecrating the Quran. The court also directed Lateef to pay a fine of Rs five lakh.

Lateef was produced in the court amidst tight security. A conviction for blasphemy in Pakistan carries the death penalty. Lateef has the right to appeal in higher courts.

The prosecution said Lateef had thrown pages of the Quran in a dirty place and passed derogatory remarks against the Prophet. Some persons caught Lateef and handed him over to police, following which he was charged under blasphemy laws."


This is truly awful and contrasts sharply with statements by the Pakistani Information Minister about how the new government values freedom of expression. I do hope something is done about this.

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