A court on Tuesday sentenced a Christian man to death on blasphemy charges. Asif Pervaiz, a garment factory worker, had been accused by his supervisor of sending blasphemous remarks about Holy Prophet (PBUH) to him in a text message. Pervais was convicted after a trial in Lahore that ran since 2013. His lawyer Saif-ul-Malook said he would appeal the sentence.
The court order said Pervaiz would first serve a three-year prison term for ‘misusing’ his phone to send the blasphemous text message. “Then he shall be hanged by his neck till his death.” He was also fined 50,000 rupees, the order said.
Pervaiz told the court his supervisor made the accusation only after he had refused to convert to Islam, Saif-ul-Malook said. The complainant’s lawyer, Murtaza Chaudhry, denied this was the case.
A US citizen of Pakistani origin on a blasphemy trial in Peshawar in July was shot dead in the courtroom by a teenager who told bystanders he killed him over blasphemy.
