A court in Rawalpindi has sentenced four men to death for spreading blasphemous content online, a prosecution lawyer confirmed to AFP on Monday.
The sentence was handed down on Friday for the men’s involvement in sharing content deemed offensive to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Quran. Rao Abdur Raheem, a lawyer from the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan, which brought the case to court, said the prosecution was backed by forensic evidence collected from the devices used in the crime.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive and controversial issue in Pakistan, where accusations, even unproven, can provoke widespread public fury and result in violent retaliation. The country has seen a troubling rise in online blasphemy cases, with vigilante groups filing charges against individuals, particularly younger people, accusing them of blasphemy for their online activities.
A member of a support group for the families of the accused confirmed the sentencing to AFP and stated that they plan to challenge the conviction. The group also expressed concerns about the growing trend of arrests and prosecutions related to blasphemy charges, emphasizing that it mirrors previous cases.
“We urge the government to establish a commission to investigate the rise in these cases before more young people spend the best years of their lives behind bars,” the anonymous member said, highlighting the serious implications of these convictions.
The case has sparked fresh calls for dialogue on the growing impact of social media and the handling of blasphemy accusations in Pakistan.
