Pakistani Christian sentenced to death for posting ‘hateful content’ against Muslims

July 2, 2024

A Pakistani court has sentenced a Christian to death for posting distorted pages of the Koran on TikTok last year.

A mob attacked Christians in the eastern Punjab province, burning their homes and churches, after two Christians were accused of desecrating the Koran last year. The men were arrested for allegedly possessing pages of the Muslim scripture daubed with derogatory remarks in red lettering.

Ehsan Shan was not involved in the desecration but was accused of reposting the defaced pages on his TikTok account, said his lawyer Khurram Shahzad The Associated Press On Monday.

Shan will appeal against the death sentence imposed on Saturday by a court in Punjab’s Sahiwal town, the lawyer said.

Amir Farooq, the police officer who arrested Shan, said he had “shared hateful content at a sensitive time when authorities were already struggling to contain the violence.”

Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan.

Critics argue that blasphemy laws are often abused to target religious minorities.

Although convictions for blasphemy are common in Pakistan, no one has ever been executed.

Most convictions are overturned on appeal by higher courts, but in the past there have been cases of suspects being lynched by mobs before they could be brought to trial.

Following the attack on Christians in Punjab last year, the local government launched an investigation while police arrested over 100 people. But none of the alleged attackers have been convicted so far, although local media at the time described the incident as one of the deadliest attacks on the minority community in the country.

The nearly 100 Christians who lost their homes in the attack were promised 2 million rupees (£5,680) each in compensation, but it is not known whether this has been paid out yet.

Additional reporting by agencies.