ISLAMABAD – A district and sessions court in Gujranwala has sentenced a 22-year-old student to death over blasphemous and inciting messages sent over WhatsApp.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Gujranwala, Zafriyab Chadhar awards death penalty to one student, and life term to another 17-year-old boy for WhatsApp messages.
The accused faced trial under Section 295-C (blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad SAW) of the Pakistan Penal Code. After getting the death sentence, the family of the accused individuals are moving to approach the Lahore High Court against the decision.
The students, whose identity remains unknown due to safety, were accused of making videos against Islam’s Prophet, which can hurt the sentiments of Muslims and could trigger riots.
As per the court’s verdict, the students were proven guilty of disseminating controversial videos and pictures. The two men have also been slapped with 3-year imprisonment under section 298-C for using derogatory words about the Prophet.
The two suspects were accused by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of sharing blasphemous content through WhatsApp. Lahore High Court later transferred the case to local court in Gujranwala for trial.
As FIA charged them of sending blasphemous content online, defense however argued that the two students were falsely implicated in the case.