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It would not be wrong to call the death penalty the biggest punishment for any crime. On one hand, due to this, the death penalty has been banned in many countries and even for serious crimes, death penalty is not given. On the other hand, in India’s neighboring country Pakistan, a 40-year-old woman was sentenced to death for insulting Prophet Muhammad.
Christian woman Shagufta Kiran was sentenced to death on Thursday under the Pakistan Electronic Crime Prevention Act (PECA) in the blasphemy case. The woman also has a 4-year-old son. Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka convicted her under Section 295 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 11 of PECA. Along with sentencing her to death, the court has also imposed a fine of 1 lakh Pakistani rupees on the woman.
What crime did the woman commit?
The woman insulted Prophet Muhammad and the woman committed this crime on social media. The woman had allegedly shared a blasphemous message on social media in the year 2020. According to Pakistani media reports, the case was registered by a user Shiraz Ahmed, who had lodged a complaint against the woman with the Cyber Crime Branch of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The FIA had registered a case against the woman on July 29, 2021. The woman had filed a bail petition in the trial court and the Islamabad High Court but both the applications were rejected.
Who is the woman?
Shagufta Kiran has a four-year-old child. Her lawyer says in this case that she had only shared a blasphemous post on social media and she is not the creator of it. The lawyer said, while Shagufta is being punished, on the other hand the real culprit who made that message is roaming free.
Report on blasphemy law surfaced
Earlier, a report by the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), a US-based organization that advocates justice and human rights globally, revealed that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were being misused.
The report also said that the accused are often arrested without warrants, denied bail, and face frequent adjournments due to absent witnesses, causing them to face a lengthy legal process.
Human rights raised questions
Amid Pakistan’s strict law on blasphemy, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed serious concern about the alleged killings of two persons accused of blasphemy. A hotel owner was killed in custody in Pakistan’s Quetta city and a doctor was killed during a police raid in Umarkot.
“The government must conduct an independent investigation to find out who was responsible for the death of the doctor in Umarkot and ensure that those responsible are punished,” the HRCP posted on X.
