Pakistan Court Awards Death Sentence To Christian Woman In Blasphemy Case

Representational Image. (ANI)

Islamabad: A court here in Pakistan on Thursday sentenced a Christian woman to death in a blasphemy case.

A case was filed under Blasphemy laws against Shaughta Karan, accused of sharing derogatory material about the Prophet of Islam in a WhatsApp group in September 2020.

Judge Afzal Majuka of the Special Court in Islamabad after the trial found her guilty under Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carries a death sentence.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 300,000 on Karan.

Apart from this, the court also sentenced her to seven years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 under Section 11 of the Pakistan Electronic Crime Act (PECA).

The judge in a brief order said the convict has the right to file an appeal in a high court within 30 days of the decision.

Judge Majuka added the execution of the sentence would not take place until the high court approved the decision.

Karan is the second Christian woman sentenced to death in a case of insulting the Prophet and the religion of Islam.

Earlier, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy, was kept in prison for eight years, but a bench headed by Asif Saeed Khosa, the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court, acquitted her in October 2018.

After her acquittal, Bibi moved to Canada with her family.

Blasphemy laws were enacted in the 1980s by former military ruler Ziaul Haq. Those charged with blasphemy are often targeted by the extremists.

According to the think tank Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), nearly 3,000 persons have been accused of blasphemy since 1987.

At least seven persons accused of blasphemy have been killed by individuals or mobs across Pakistan since January this year, the CSJ said.

A total of 94 people accused of blasphemy have been killed in mob attacks between 1994 and 2023.