27/09/2024, Author: John Pontifex

A Christian mother of four in Pakistan has been sentenced to death for sharing allegedly blasphemous messages on WhatsApp – but legal advocates, supported by a leading Catholic charity – have vowed to appeal the conviction.

Former nurse Shagufta Kiran, 40, received the death sentence on Wednesday (18 September) by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) court in Islamabad. She was also fined 300,000 Pakistani Rupees (more than €950).

The sentencing came more than three years after FIA officers stormed her home in Rawalpindi and arrested her, acting on a complaint that in a WhatsApp discussion group she had shared comments deemed disrespectful to Islam’s Prophet Mohammad. Shagufta was convicted under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, whereby insulting the Prophet carries a mandatory death sentence.

Responding to the FIA court’s verdict, Naeem Yousaf Gill, Executive Director of the National (Catholic) Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): “We are deeply disappointed. Justice has not been served in Shagufta’s case. She will take her case to the High Court. The sentence is harsh.”

Mr Gill, who explained that the NCJP had provided paralegal support for Shagufta’s family and funded her legal fees early on in the case, added: “We urge all our friends and supporters to pray for her and her family.”

The NCJP head, whose organisation is part-funded by ACN, said: “At a wider level, the state must counter the rising radicalisation that triggers such incidents.” He urged the Pakistan government to “strictly target” individuals who fabricate allegations with malicious intent.

The complaint against Shagufta was registered by Muslim man Shiraz Ahmed Farooqi, who said that in September 2020 she shared the allegedly blasphemous content in a WhatsApp group he administered. Shagufta’s attorney, Rana Abdul Hameed, reportedly told Christian media that the accused had insisted she did not author the contentious content shared in the WhatsApp group, called ‘Pure Discussions’.

Mr Hameed told Christian media: “I met [Shagufta] after the judge issued the sentence and can confirm that she is very hopeful of a positive outcome from the superior courts. However, she misses her family a lot and wants to reunite with them as soon as possible.”

Shagufta’s husband and son were arrested alongside Shagufta in 2021 but were soon released.

Aid to the Church in Need has provided longstanding support for the NCJP which provides legal and paralegal aid for victims of blasphemy and raises awareness of justice issues affecting Christians and other minorities across Pakistan.