LAHORE: A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian man to death for blasphemy yesterday, his lawyer said, over an incident that triggered a riot in the second-largest city.
Sawan Masih was convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) during a conversation with a Muslim friend in the Joseph Colony neighbourhood last March.
More than 3,000 Muslims rampaged through the colony, torching some 100 Christian homes, after the allegations against Masih emerged.
Naeem Shakir, one of Masih’s lawyers, said: “The judge has announced the death sentence for Masih. “We will appeal in the Lahore High Court.”
Verdict and sentence were announced inside the jail where Masih was held, Shakir said.
The country has had a de facto moratorium on civilian hangings since 2008. Only one person has been executed since then, a soldier convicted by court martial.
Pakistan has extremely strict laws against defaming Islam, including the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), and rights campaigners say they are often used to settle personal disputes.
Masih has maintained his innocence and argued the real reason for the blasphemy allegation was a property dispute between him and his friend.
No one was killed in the rampage but the incident highlighted the sensitivity of blasphemy in Pakistan.
Some 97 percent of the 180m population are Muslim, and even unproven allegations can trigger a violent public response.
Earlier this month an angry mob set fire to a Hindu temple in the southern city of Larkana over the alleged desecration of a copy of Holy Quran. AFP
