Rawalpindi:
A Rawalpindi court on Tuesday gave the death penalty to five accused on Tuesday, as well as perpetuity imprisonment and a cumulative sum of 6.5 million fines in a blasphemy case registered against them by the Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The additional judge of the district and the Tariq Ayub sessions pronounced the verdict before the court, which was filled with lawyers and a large number of people. The court said that the five criminals, Muhammad Arsalan, Ali Abbas, Faisal Rehan, Khurram Afzal and Zunair Sikandar, had been sentenced to death.
The additional judge of the district and the sessions ruled that the convicts had committed an odious crime and that they did not deserve any concession. After the verdict, the convicts were transferred to Adiala prison in the midst of close security.
In addition, Lahore police said on Tuesday that YouTube star Rajab Butt had been accused of blasphemy for having named his perfume brand after the Pakistan Criminal Code (PPC) related to blasphemy.
In a recent promotional video, since deleted from its social media accounts, Butt has launched its perfume, whose name referred to the legislation on blasphemy in the penal code. The advertising of the perfume sparked the ire, encouraging the head of the Tehreek-E-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) to file a complaint late on Monday.
“Our religious feelings were injured,” said TLP chief Haider Ali Shah Gillani. “There are many sections in the penal code, but why did he choose sections related to blasphemy to name a perfume?
Butt published an apology video on Sunday, saying that he was not against blasphemy laws. “I apologize for the words I pronounced when launching the perfume,” he said. “I apologize and announce the stopping of this perfume,” he added.
A police accusation sheet seen by AFP and authenticated by a police official on Tuesday details the charges against the buttocks, including blasphemy and cybercrime. In other legal problems, Butt pleaded guilty in January to have possessed an undocumented wild animal. However, he avoided the prison sentence.
(With AFP entrance)
