Pakistani woman sentenced to death for sending ‘blasphemous’ WhatsApp messages

ISLAMABAD: JAN. 20 – A Pakistani court on Wednesday sentenced to death a woman for sending ‘blasphemous messages’ to her estranged friend.

Anika Attique was convicted by a court in Rawalpindi on the complaint of Farooq Hassanat, who had filed a case against her in 2020. She was charged with committing blasphemy against the prophet, insulting Islam and violating the cybercrime laws.

As per the details of the case, Anika and Farooq were friends but differences erupted between the two and an extremely angry Anika WhatsApp him ‘blasphemous’ messages.

He asked her to delete the messages and say sorry for her action, but she refused.

Consequently, Farooq filed a complaint against her with the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which after an initial probe, filed the case and arrested her for probe and prosecution.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws were enacted by former military dictator Ziaul Haq in the 1980s. Nobody has been executed under these laws but several people have been killed on mere suspicion of committing blasphemy.

Last year, a Sri Lankan man working as a manager in a factory in Sialkot city was lynched by a mob after he was accused of blasphemy.

-PTI