Pakistani dissenters rallied Tuesday for a Christian sentenced to death on blasphemy charges — specifically sharing "hateful content" against Muslims on social media, the Associated Press reported.
Dozens with the country's civil society rallied in the southern port city of Karachi against the sentence nearly a year after one of the worst mob attacks on Christiansin the country, the AP added. Civil society groups stand up for human rights in Pakistan.
The outlet said blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan and that under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death.
The outlet said several Christians also joined the rally, which was held one day after a court in Sahiwal in the Punjab province announced the death sentence against Ehsan Shan. Khurram Shahzad, Shan’s lawyer, on Monday said Shan will appeal the verdict, the AP said.
More from the outlet:
He was arrested in August 2023 after groups of Muslim men burned dozens of homes and churches in the city of Jaranwala in Punjab after some residents claimed they saw two Christian men desecrating pages from Islam’s holy book, the Quran. The two men were later arrested.Pakistan minority rights campaigners in Karachi protest the sentencing of a Christian man to death for sharing an allegedly blasphemous TikTok post, July 2, 2024. In an order released on July 1, a Christian man was sentenced by an anti-terror court for reposting an image of a torn and defaced Koran alongside online accusation against two Christian brothers who were originally arrested for blasphemy but released after investigators believed they were framed over a personal grudge, according to domestic media.Photo by RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP via Getty Images
Though Shan was not party to the desecration, he was accused of reposting the defaced pages of the Quran on his TikTok account.
Christian leader Luke Victor called for Shah’s release at Tuesday’s rally in Karachi, the AP said, adding that Victor also demanded action against those who were involved in burning churches and homes of Christians in Jaranwala.
The outlet said blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan and that under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death.
The AP added that while authorities haven't yet carried out a death sentence for blasphemy, riots, lynchings, killings, and other violence can follow mere accusations of blasphemy.
How are observers reacting?
Several hundred comments have appeared underneath the AP story on the death sentence as published by Yahoo News. A number of them invoked the recent pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses:
- "I'm sure the college kids will be protesting this," one commenter noted sarcastically. "(Not really...they wont care)."
- "Ah, the religion of peace. Where is the outrage on college campuses, where is the UN, the [International Criminal Court], [the] other 'protectors' of human rights???" another commenter wondered. "Dead silence from them all!"
- "This is the people that the Squad and the university protesters are trying to help. The nicest people on earth!" another commenter stated with sarcasm. "(I had to say this or else they'd come after me!)"
- "Wonder how many of those pro-Palestinian protesters will react to what happens here, or if their myopic worldview only extends to Gaza," another commenter asked.
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