1 minute read
Islamabad, Jun 3 (EFE).- A Pakistani court on Thursday acquitted a Christian couple who had been sentenced to death in 2014 for alleged blasphemy and ordered their release from prison.
The ruling comes after the European Parliament had condemned the case and pressured Pakistani authorities to absolve the couple, who had been found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a text message.
“The court order said both are acquitted of the charge (…) We will challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court and we are hopeful of getting justice there,” the complainant’s lawyer, Ghulam Mustafa, told Efe after the decision by the Lahore High Court.
Image: Martin Bureau / AFP / Getty Images / World Watch Monitor
Shafqat Emmanuel (top left) and Shagufta Kausar (bottom left) are the first Pakistani Christians on death row to be acquitted of blasphemy after Asia Bibi (right).
The Pakistani Christian woman who replaced Asia Bibi in her prison cell on death row, Shaguftah Kausar, has after a dozen delays since April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic been acquitted from the death penalty by the Lahore high court.
The mother of four, along with her disabled husband, Shafqat Emmanuel, was arrested for blasphemy in 2013 and sentenced to death in 2014. Despite both being illiterate, the Catholic couple, surnamed Masih , were convicted of sending blasphemous texts in English to Islamic clerics.
European Parliament Condemns Pakistan s Blasphemy Laws forbes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forbes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 19, 2021
CWN Editor s Note: The village is located in Punjab (map), Pakistan’s most populous province. Nearly 97% of its people are Muslims, and nearly 3% are Christians.
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
There are no comments yet for this item.