By Caleb Campos –
After allegedly insulting the prophet Muhammad on WhatsApp, Shagufta Kiran, a mother of four, was sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
“I met her after the judge issued the sentence and can confirm that she is very hopeful of a positive outcome from the superior courts,” said her attorney, Rana Abdul Hameed, on Morning Star News. “However, she misses her family a lot and wants to reunite with them as soon as possible.”
Kiran is a part of the one percent of Christians in the 96% Islamic country.
Pakistan has no freedom of speech similar to America’s. The country is officially Islamic and outlaws speech against Allah, Mohammad and the Koran. People who run afoul of this prohibition can be executed.
Kiran joined group chats on WhatsApp that spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, but one day she caught the attention of authorities.
Kiran says she accidentally forwarded a criticism of Muhammad in a private group called Pure Discussions which was run by Farooqi Muhammad Ameer Fiasal of India and by Muhammad Jaleel of Canada. On July 29, 2021, she was arrested based on a police report made by Shiraz Ahmed Farooqi.
Her husband and two sons were also arrested but later released. She remains in custody.
“Charges against Kiran allegedly included ‘intending to outrage religious feelings’ and ’insulting the Prophet Muhammad’ among others,” according to persecution.org
It is possible that Kiran will be released on appeal. In fact, the lower courts, which feel the local pressure of mobs in local communities, tend to convict blasphemy cases, and the superior courts tend to absolve them, Rana Abdul Hameed noted.
“We feel it’s a wrong judgment based on prejudice,” said Kiran’s attorney, Rana Abdul Hameed. “The judge didn’t bother to look at the evidence or conduct a proper analysis.”
Of 3,000 accused of blasphemy in Pakistan since 1987, less than 100 have met their sentence of death, according to a study by the Center for Social Justice.
The study also says that hundreds of accused were incarcerated last year in Pakistan, with 552 detained in prisons in Punjab Province alone. At least 350 persons remained behind bars as of June.
The report stated that at least seven persons accused of blasphemy have been killed by individuals or mob violence in Pakistan since January. A total of 94 people accused of blasphemy were killed in mob attacks between 1994 and 2023.
