A 26-year-old woman Aneeqa Ateeq received a death sentence for promoting blasphemous content on WhatsApp. The court also pronounced a 20-year jail term and Rs 200,000 fine to the accused woman.
Judge Adnan Mushtaq of the Anti-Cyber Crime Court Rawalpindi delivered the reserved judgment in this regard yesterday. According to reports, Aneeqa Ateeq made sketches of religious figures and posted them on her status on WhatsApp. The woman also shared more sketches and YouTube links that contained offensive material.
As a result, one of the people to whom Ateeq sent the blasphemous content to registered a case against Ateeq in the FIA Cyber Crime Wing Rawalpindi on May 13, 2020. Later, authorities arrested her.
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Judge Adnan Mushtaq convicted Aneeqa Ateeq, under sections 295-A, 295-C, and 298 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 11 of Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca). The court awarded death sentence under Section 295-C [blasphemy]. Under Section 295-A [insulting religious belief], she was sentenced to 10 years.
26-year-old Aneeqa Ateeq sentenced to death under 295C over posting 'blasphemous' WhatsApp status by a Rawalpindi court. She has also been given 20-year jail time under 295A, 298A, PECA-2016 along with a fine of Rs200,000. pic.twitter.com/GvbBfJHqlA
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) January 19, 2022
According to reports, the court said the accused did not provide any evidence in her defense during the trial. The court also recorded the statements of the investigating officers after the plaintiff registered the case, which they confirmed.
After confirming all the evidence, the court sentenced Aneeqa Ateeq to death. The court ruling stated, “She is to be hanged by her neck till she is dead.”
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Pakistan’s first death sentence for blasphemy on social media
In 2017, Pakistan awarded its first death sentence for blasphemy on social media. A court in Bahawalpur sentenced to death a man who allegedly committed blasphemy on Facebook.
According to reports, 30-year-old Taimoor Raza received the death sentence for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad, his wives, and companions. The step came owing to Pakistan’s crackdown on dissent on social media.
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Earlier this month, an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has handed death sentences to three people for social media posts deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad under the country’s blasphemy laws. A fourth accused, a college teacher, received 10 years in jail for a “blasphemous” lecture he delivered in his classroom.