A court in Rawalpindi has sentenced four men to death for posting blasphemous content online, a lawyer from the Legal Commission of Blasphemy Pakistan (LCBP) confirmed on Monday.
“They were sentenced to death … on Friday for spreading blasphemous content online,” said Rao Abdur Raheem, a lawyer for the LCBP. He added that forensic evidence from the devices used in the alleged offenses had supported the prosecution’s case.
Despite convictions in several cases, Pakistan has never carried out an execution for blasphemy. Appeals often result in sentences of life imprisonment.
A member of a support group for the convicted men, speaking anonymously due to security concerns, said the families would contest the verdict.
“We urge the government to investigate the growing number of cases of blasphemy online before more young individuals spend the best years of their lives behind bars,” the member said.
Rights groups have raised concerns about the growing number of online blasphemy prosecutions. A National Human Rights Commission report in October found that 767 people, mostly young men, are currently in prison awaiting trial on blasphemy charges.
“In these cases, due process was notably ignored, with significant procedural violations observed at multiple stages,” the report said. He added that individuals, rather than law enforcement, often make arrests in such cases.
The LCBP, a prominent group of lawyers and private volunteers, has been at the forefront of cases of online blasphemy. Sheraz Ahmad Farooqi, one of its leaders, described the group’s efforts as a “noble cause” in an earlier interview.
A special court was established last September to expedite dozens of backlogged blasphemy cases, some of which have dragged on for years.
