Blasphemy: Briton appeals against death sentence

Asghar, a 69-year-old British-Pakistani, was sentenced by a court in Rawalpindi over charges of blasphemy.

ISLAMABAD: Lawyers for an elderly Briton sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy filed an appeal on Friday, saying the court had failed to consider ‘overwhelming’ evidence of his mental illness. Mohammad Asghar, a 69-year-old British-Pakistani with dual nationality, was sentenced by a court in Rawalpindi over charges of blasphemy. British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he is ‘deeply concerned’ about Asghar, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in Britain in 2010, and officials have raised the matter with the Pakistani authorities. A lawyer for Asghar said an appeal had been lodged with the Lahore High Court against both the conviction and death sentence.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2014.