The Associated Press (AP) reported that a Pakistani court sentenced a 22-year-old student to death and gave a teenager life in prison on Monday under the country’s blasphemy laws. The 22-year-old student’s lawyer, Aslam Gujar, told the AP that Junaid Munir had been sentenced to death last week. The charges come as a result of [...]
Search Results for: blasphemy
Malaysia charges filmmakers with blasphemy, drawing condemnation from human rights groups
Two filmmakers of a film banned in Malaysia were charged on Wednesday with “hurting religious feelings” due to the contents of their film. Nine human rights organizations have condemned the criminal charges as breaches of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The film, Mentega Terbang, debuted at a film festival in 2021. It [...]
Pakistan rejects US State Department inclusion in religious freedom concern list
Pakistan rejected Monday its designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) by the United States State Department over religious freedom concerns in the South Asian country. The US State Department designated Pakistan as a CPC on January 4 following a recommendation from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The Pakistan Ministry of [...]
Pakistan dispatch: Jaranwala vandalism attacks spotlight controversial blasphemy laws
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Izhar Ahmed Khan is a 2022 LL.B. graduate of the Pakistan College of Law (University of London International Program). He files this from Lahore. Last week Pakistan witnessed yet another tragic incident in which an [...]
Pakistan arrests two Christians on blasphemy charges following religious unrest
A Pakistan spokesperson announced the arrest of two Christian brothers for blasphemy Friday, according to Reuters. The two were accused of ripping pages from the Quran. Chapter XV of Pakistan’s Penal Code outlines several different forms of blasphemy against Islam. These criminalize conduct such as making derogatory remarks about Muhammad or the desecration of the [...]
Pakistan Supreme Court refuses to stay former PM Imran Khan corruption case
The Supreme Court of Pakistan, on Wednesday, rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s request to halt his prosecution in a case regarding wealth concealment after selling state gifts. Khan’s attorney dismissed the allegations insulating that the justices are “rushing” the case. The Election Commission disqualified Khan on October 2022, from holding public office for 5 [...]
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Mashal Asim Khan is an LLB student in the University of London External Programme at The Institute of Legal Studies (TILS). She files this from Islamabad. On Thursday last week, July 20th, there was yet [...]
Nigeria stoning over blasphemy accusations prompts religious freedom concerns
A man was stoned to death Monday in northwest Nigeria after being accused of blasphemy, raising concerns about escalating threats to religious freedom in the region. Local authorities confirmed the incident with a statement on Sunday, saying: On 25th June 2023 at about 0955hrs, a distress call was received at about 0920hrs that one Usman [...]
American author Edward Bellamy once described history as a cyclical process that “returned to the point of beginning”, claiming “the idea of indefinite progress in a right line was a chimera of the imagination, with no analog in nature.” Unfortunately, this perfectly encapsulates the current state of affairs in Pakistan. Politics in Pakistan seem to [...]
Rights group estimates Iran executed at least 140 people in May
Iran Human Rights released data on Thursday which shows Iran executed 142 people in May, making it the highest number of Iranian executions in one month since 2015. Some of the charges used to justify executions this year include blasphemy and adultery. Iran executed Yousef Mehrad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare after finding them guilty of [...]