Sahiwal, July 1: In another glaring case of religious intolerance in Pakistan, a Christian youth has been sentenced to death for sharing a “sacrilegious” social media post that allegedly incited riots in Jaranwala in Punjab province in August last year.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) handed down the death sentence to the youth in Sahiwal.
ATC Judge Ziaullah Khan while announcing the death verdict, also sentenced the youth to 22 years in prison and a fine of Rs1 million.
In a Jaranwala neighbourhood last August, an angry mob vandalised and ransacked around 20 churches and dozens of Christian homes following allegations of desecration of the holy Quran.
The Punjab Police had booked around 135 people for targeting the minority community, but only 12 are currently facing trials, as most of the accused were either discharged or released on bail, said advocate Akmal Bhatti, the chairman of the Minorities Alliance.
Three days after the riots, the youth accused of sharing the sacrilegious content on social media was arrested by police based on intelligence reports.
The judgement details that the Christian youth has been sentenced to death and fined Rs500,000 under Section 295(C), 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 295(A), seven years under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act and five years imprisonment plus a Rs500,000 fine under 7(1)(G)-ATA.
Complainant Amir Farooq, currently serving as SHO at the Ghala Mandi police station, stated that although the accused did not create the blasphemous content, he shared it on TikTok, leading to its widespread circulation.
Farooq served as a sub-inspector at the Dera Rahim police station when the incident took place.
