Pakistani woman sentenced to death for allegedly blaspheming Muhammed
The archbishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Joseph Arshad, addresses the persecuted Christian community of Jaranwala in August 2023. Twenty-one Catholic churches, Bibles, and family homes were set on fire. / Credit: Courtesy of Aid to the Church in Need ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 3, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
A Christian mother of four has been sentenced to death by a trial judge at the Special Court in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, for allegedly spreading blasphemous messages via the messaging service WhatsApp. She must also pay a fine of 300,000 Pakistani rupees (about $ 1,000).
Shagufta Kiran, a 40-year-old former nurse, was sentenced on Sept. 18. She had been arrested in 2021 along with her husband and son — who were later released — for alleged blasphemous messages posted in 2020. Her lawyer, according to the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), has promised to appeal the sentence.
“Kiran was not the author of this content and simply forwarded it to a chat without reading it,” her defense said, as reported by the Vatican agency Fides.
“The person who wrote the incriminating message is free; the person who only commented on it without approving the content, on the other hand, has been convicted. We believe that Shagufta was accused because she is a Christian: She is an easy target and vulnerable,” said her lawyer, Rana Abdul Hameed.
Kiran’s conviction is based on Section 295-C of the Penal Code, which imposes the death penalty for insulting the prophet Muhammad. She is being held in Adyalaa Central Prison in Rawalpindi until her sentence is served.
Hameed also stressed that Pakistan is closely monitoring possible blasphemy offenses on the internet and social media, which Islamic organizations consider to be “a growing threat that must be punished with the utmost severity.” A specialized unit of the federal police monitors and reports to security agencies any blasphemous content posted online.
“We are deeply disappointed. Justice has not been served in Shagufta’s case. She will take her case to the High Court,” Naeem Yousaf, executive director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace, told ACN.
“At a wider level, the state must counter the rising radicalization that triggers such incidents,” he continued. He concluded by urging “all our friends and supporters to pray for her and her family.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
