Aneeqa Ateeq, 26, was arrested in May 2020 and charged with posting ‘blasphemous material’ as her WhatsApp status, according to a summary issued by the court.
Summary
- But an execution has never been carried out as courts have overruled sentenceBlasphemy is punishable by the death sentence in Muslim-majority PakistanA Muslim woman has been sentenced to death in Pakistan for sending caricatures of Prophet Muhammad over WhatsApp, a court said.
- Blasphemy is an act punishable by the death sentence in Muslim-majority Pakistan, although an execution has never been carried out for the crime.
- Pakistan has strict blasphemy laws which carry a death penalty for people who insult the Prophet Muhammad, Islam, the Quran or certain holy people.
- An overwhelming 98 per cent of the population follows Islam and critics say the law targets members of other religious groups including Hindus and Christians.
- The country’s government has long been under pressure to change the country’s blasphemy laws, first introduced by British colonial rulers in 1860.