By LifeSiteNews (Politics) | Created at 2024-11-20 21:18:21 | Updated at 2024-11-23 08:07:11
2 days ago
Wed Nov 20, 2024 - 4:17 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) — A Pakistani Christian mother of four has been sentenced to death for blasphemy after she shared a WhatsApp message deemed to have “insult[ed] the Prophet Muhammad.”
Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka sentenced 40-year-old Shagufta Kiran to death in September on multiple charges, including “intending to outrage religious feelings” and “insulting the Prophet Muhammad,” according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Kiran has also been sentenced to a fine of 300,000 rupees ($1,077 USD) following her three-year trial. The Christian mother’s attorneys reportedly plan to appeal the sentencing.
The mother is said to have discussed her Christian faith in several WhatsApp groups, Persecution.org reported. A Muslim member of one of the groups, Shiraz Ahmed Farooqi, submitted a complaint about Kiran, alleging derogatory remarks against Muhammed, the most revered “prophet” of Islam and designated a “holy personage” under Pakistani law.
Kiran’s attorney, Rana Abdul Hameed, told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that she has stated that she herself did not write the content of the message she shared and that she forwarded it without reading it.
Her husband, Rafique Masih, pointed out that the message Kiran sent had “been forwarded many times” before his wife shared it, questioning why only she was targeted for sharing it.
Kiran’s family has since fled Islamabad and gone into hiding due to threats. At the time of her arrest, Kiran’s three sons were ages 10, 12, and 15, and her daughter was 18 years old.
Kiran is being held in Central Jail Adiala, Rawalpindi, reportedly in solitary confinement. She is said to have her Bible with her, and “reads it and prays whenever she feels sad or lonely,” reported Church in Chains.
It is reported that in Pakistan, blasphemy charges are often made for vengeance during disputes.
A USCIRF report from December 2023 says that “In many cases, there is no punishment for those who offer false accusations or perpetrate vigilante violence” against those accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.
According to the report, since 1987, more than 2,000 individuals “have been accused of blasphemy,” and 40 are currently facing the death penalty.
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