Pakistan: Life imprisonment for woman convicted of "desecrating the Quran"

Shafaq News / A Pakistani court has sentenced a Muslim woman to life imprisonment for desecrating the holy Quran, as announced by the prosecutor, according to the Associated Press.

Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, individuals convicted of insulting religion or religious figures can be sentenced to death.

While the death penalty for blasphemy has not yet been carried out by authorities, mere accusations can incite riots.

Government prosecutor Mohazib Awais stated that "the woman, Aasiya Bibi, was arrested in 2021 on blasphemy charges after residents claimed she had desecrated the holy Quran by burning its pages."

Awais added that "the judge delivered the verdict on Wednesday in the city of Lahore in the eastern part of the country."

He further mentioned that "Bibi, who denied the charges during her trial, has the right to appeal."

Notably, a Christian woman with the same name was acquitted of blasphemy charges in 2019 after spending eight years awaiting execution in Pakistan, and she later moved to Canada to escape death threats from extremists upon her release.

Local and international human rights groups argue that blasphemy allegations are often used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.

Earlier in March, another court in Gujranwala, Punjab province, sentenced a 22-year-old student to death and gave a teenager a life sentence in two separate cases after finding them guilty of insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, as per the Assotiated Press.