LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) today (Thursday) acquitted a Christian couple who were sentenced to death more than seven years ago for ‘sending blasphemy texts’.
The couple, Shafqat Emmanuel and his wife Shagufta Masih, had subsequently filed an appeal against their conviction in the LHC. They were represented in the legal proceedings by Advocate Saiful Mulook.
Lahore High Courts acquits Christian couple on death row over false charges of blasphemy. Shafqat and Shagufta Masih were sentenced 7 years ago in Toba Tek Singh, over sending blasphemous text msgs from a SIM they didn’t own. pic.twitter.com/sffPDLGHUW
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) June 3, 2021
A two-member bench of the LHC overturned the couple’s conviction, paving the way for their release. The court’s detailed judgement is currently awaited.
Shagufta and Shafqat were convicted in 2014 after ‘blasphemous’ texts were allegedly sent from a phone registered in the former’s name. They have spent the last seven years in jail waiting to appeal their convictions and death sentences.
The couple was arrested in July 2013 under Section 295-C [use of derogatory remarks, etc., in respect of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)] of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the complainants of shopkeeper Malik Mohammad Hussain and Gojra tehsil bar’s former president Anwar Mansoor Goraya.
In April this year, the European Parliament had adopted a resolution calling for a review of the GSP+ status granted to Pakistan in view of an “alarming” increase in the use of blasphemy accusations in the country, among other concerns.
Human rights groups say blasphemy laws are often misused to persecute minorities or even against Muslims to settle personal rivalries. Such accusations can end up in lynchings or street vigilantism.
