According to a report by BBC, a court in Pakistan's Punjab Province has sentenced a 22-year-old student to death, while a 17-year-old has been handed a life sentence, both on charges of blasphemy related to WhatsApp messages.
The judges of the Punjab Province court determined that the 22-year-old was sentenced to death for allegedly creating photos and videos containing derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad and his wives. The court stated that the student shared the content with the purported intent of offending the religious sentiments of Muslims.
Similarly, the teenager received a life sentence for disseminating the material. Both individuals denied the allegations, with their legal representatives contending that they were ensnared in a fabricated case, as per the BBC report.
The complaint against the pair was lodged in 2022 by the cybercrime unit of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore. The complainant alleged receiving blasphemous videos and photos from three different mobile phone numbers. After scrutinizing the complainant's phone, the investigative agency confirmed the transmission of "indecent material" to him.
The father of the 22-year-old student informed the BBC that he plans to file an appeal in the Lahore High Court against his son's verdict.
Blasphemy is considered a capital offense in Pakistan, with the country's laws against blasphemy originating during British colonial rule in India and later expanded during Pakistan's military regime in the 1980s.
