From Abid Usman
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday acquitted a Christian couple who were sentenced to death more than seven years ago for committing blasphemy.
Shafqat Emmanuel, the watchman of a school in Toba Tek Singh district’s Gojra, and his wife Shagufta Masih were arrested in July 2013 under Section 295-C use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the charge of sending blasphemous text messages to the complainants, shopkeeper Malik Mohammad Hussain and Gojra tehsil bar’s former president Anwar Mansoor Goraya.
In April 2014, the couple were sentenced to death for blasphemy and fined Rs100,000 each by an additional district and sessions judge in Toba Tek Singh. The couple, who denied the charge against them, had subsequently filed an appeal against their conviction in the LHC. They were represented in the legal proceedings by Advocate Saiful Mulook, while the complainants were represented by Advocate Chaudhry Ghulam Mustafa.
