Mardan court convicts man of blasphemy

Special ATC sentences Irfan to death; imposes fine of around Rs0.5m

PESHAWAR:

A trial court in Khyber Pakhunkhwa’s (K-P) Mardan city on Wednesday sentenced a man to death for committing blasphemy. The court also slapped him with a fine of Rs0.4 million.

Special Anti-Terrorism Court-II (ATC) Judge Khalid Khan also sentenced 36-year-old Irfan to five-year-imprisonment on two counts while also imposing additional fines of a total Rs160,000.

On February 13, 2017, Irfan entered a mosque at Guli Bagh neighborhood of the city and used the loudspeakers to claim that he was a prophet. The culprit fled the scene when an angry mob gathered outside the mosque and tried to capture him.

The police arrested Irfan two days later and registered an FIR against him under the blasphemy law.
An ATC in Peshawar on March 25 convicted and sentenced a man to death after he was accused of posting blasphemous content in a WhatsApp group. Syed Muhammad Zeeshan was convicted under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and Anti-Terrorist Act, 1997.

"Accused Syed Muhammad Zeeshan, son of Syed Zakaullah in custody has been convicted and sentenced after being found guilty," the court order said.

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Zeeshan, also a resident of Mardan, was also fined Rs1.2 million and handed a total of 23 years imprisonment. He has the right to appeal.

The case arose after Muhammad Saeed, a resident of Talagang in Punjab province filed an application with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) two years ago, accusing Zeeshan of posting blasphemous content in a WhatsApp group, Saeed's counsel Ibrar Hussain told AFP.

The "FIA had confiscated Zeeshan's cell phone and its forensic examination proved him guilty", he said. While Pakistan's laws prohibiting blasphemy can carry a potential death sentence, so far it has never been enforced for the crime.