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ATC sentences three men to death for blasphemous content on social media

ATC sentences three men to death for blasphemous content on social media
January 8, 2021

ISLAMABAD (92 News) - An Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad sentenced three people to death for blasphemous content on social media on Friday.

Nasir Ahmad Sultani, Rana Nouman and Abdul Waheed were convicted of contempt of court and blasphemy. Permanent arrest warrants were also issued for four accused.

The three men were accused of operating a social media page that was deemed insulting to religion. They allegedly committed blasphemy by posting things on social media.

The court declared that the charges, filed by a man named Hafiz Ehtesham in 2017, had been proven against the defendants. The case was submitted to the FIA.

A professor has also been sentenced to 10 years in jail and a Rs100,000 fine on the same charge. He was accused of making anti-religious remarks during a lecture.

The court also issued perpetual warrants for the arrest of four proclaimed offenders. The court had reserved its verdict in case on December 15, 2020.

The case was registered under Sections 295-A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting Its religion or religious beliefs), 295-B (Defiling, etc of the Holy Quran), 295-C (Use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)), 298 (Uttering words, etc with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings), 298-A (Use of derogatory remarks, etc in respect of holy personages), 298-B (Misuse of epithets, descriptions and titles, etc, reserved for certain holy personages or places) and 109 (Punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

It also contained Section 11 (hate speech) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and sections 6(f) (incites hatred and contempt on religious, sectarian or ethnic basis to strip up violence or cause internal disturbance), 7(b) (he does anything likely to cause death or endangers life, but death or hurt is not caused, shall be punishable, on conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a terms which shall he not less than 5[ten years] but may extend to 5[imprisonments for life] and with fine;), 8 (Prohibition of acts intended or likely to stir up sectarian hatred) and 9 (Punishment for offence under section 8) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.