By Adnan Rafique
ISLAMABAD: An Anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad sentenced three accused of committing blasphemy on social media to death on Friday. ATC Judge Raja Jawad Abbas delivered the verdict in the presence of the accused, identified as Nasir Ahmad Sultan, Rana Noman and Abdul Waheed.
Another accused, Professor Anwar Ahmed, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and had a Rs100,000 fine imposed on him for defaming religion. The court ruled that all accused have been proved to have committed blasphemy; it also issued permanent arrest warrants against four absconding accused.
The cases had been pending before the court since the past four years. The ATC had completed the trial and reserved its decision on December 15, 2020. In October last year, a Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench, headed by Justice Syed Shehbaz Ali Rizvi, acquitted a man who had been handed down death sentence on blasphemy charges in March 2014.
The convict, Sawan Masih, had filed an appeal against the death sentence given by the trial court. The appellant raised several objections on the police investigation and prosecution. Masih told the court that police had registered the case 35 hours after the alleged occurrence, alleging that it showed mala fide intent in the case.
There were contradictions in the story of the FIR and the one narrated by the complainant before the trial court, he contended. The appellant further said that the blasphemy charges were fabricated by elements who wanted to occupy the land of Joseph Colony. He asked the court to set aside his conviction and order his acquittal.
