A Christian couple sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan will now appear in court for the final hearing in their appeal after six years on death row.
Shagufta Kausar and her husband Shafqat Emmanuel, a poor Christian couple from the town of Gojra in Pakistan's Punjab region, will attend a final hearing at Lahore's High Court after being on death row since 2014.
They were arrested for sending blasphemous text messages that insulted the Prophet Muhammad to a local Imam.
Shagufta's brother Joseph said he visited the couple in jail where they told him the confession was extracted under torture.
'He told me the policeman hit [Shafqat] so hard that his leg was broken,' Joseph said.
He added that the conviction has taken a toll on the couple's four children who 'wish to see their parents again'.
As to the accusations against his family, Joseph, who asked to remain anonymous, said he thought the couple were illiterate so doubted they could have written the messages.
He told the BBC that his sister worked as a caretaker in a Christian school and that Shafqat was out of work, owing to a disability, at the time of their arrest.
Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan and any conviction warrants a death sentence.
Even unproven allegations of insulting Islam can lead to assassinations and lynchings from furious mobs.
Though no-one has yet been hung for the crime, those who are set free face the wrath of extremist vigilantes.
The couple's lawyer, Saif ul Malook - who represented Asia Bibi and helped overturn her conviction in 2018 - said the couple's case was stronger than Bibi's but that judges are often 'fearful' to overturn rulings.
Some high-profile justices have been assassinated for releasing people accused of the crime.
'They have been used to target religious minorities, pursue personal vendettas and carry out vigilante violence.'
According to Malook, the couple believes one of their Christian neighbours bought a sim card in Shagufta's name and sent the messages to the Imam to settle a score.
The acquittal last October of Bibi, a Christian who had spent more than eight years on death row for blasphemy, provoked violent protests across Pakistan.
Bibi now lives in Canada with her family.
Christian couple sentenced to death in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy plead for freedom at final appeal
June 04, 2020
0
Tags
Share to other apps
Thank you for reaching out to us. We are happy to receive your opinion and request. If you need advert or sponsored post, We’re excited you’re considering advertising or sponsoring a post on our blog. Your support is what keeps us going. With the current trend, it’s very obvious content marketing is the way to go. Banner advertising and trying to get customers through Google Adwords may get you customers but it has been proven beyond doubt that Content Marketing has more lasting benefits.
We offer majorly two types of advertising:
1. Sponsored Posts: If you are really interested in publishing a sponsored post or a press release, video content, advertorial or any other kind of sponsored post, then you are at the right place.
WHAT KIND OF SPONSORED POSTS DO WE ACCEPT?
Generally, a sponsored post can be any of the following:
Press release
Advertorial
Video content
Article
Interview
This kind of post is usually written to promote you or your business. However, we do prefer posts that naturally flow with the site’s general content. This means we can also promote artists, songs, cosmetic products and things that you love of all products or services.
DURATION & BONUSES
Every sponsored article will remain live on the site as long as this website exists. The duration is indefinite! Again, we will share your post on our social media channels and our email subscribers too will get to read your article. You’re exposing your article to our: Twitter followers, Facebook fans and other social networks.
We will also try as much as possible to optimize your post for search engines as well.
Submission of Materials : Sponsored post should be well written in English language and all materials must be delivered via electronic medium. All sponsored posts must be delivered via electronic version, either on disk or e-mail on Microsoft Word unless otherwise noted.
PRICING
The price largely depends on if you’re writing the content or we’re to do that. But if your are writing the content, it is $60 per article.
2. Banner Advertising: We also offer banner advertising in various sizes and of course, our prices are flexible. you may choose to for the weekly rate or simply buy your desired number of impressions.
Technical Details And Pricing
Banner Size 300 X 250 pixels : Appears on the home page and below all pages on the site.
Banner Size 728 X 90 pixels: Appears on the top right Corner of the homepage and all pages on the site.
Large rectangle Banner Size (336x280) : Appears on the home page and below all pages on the site.
Small square (200x200) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Half page (300x600) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Portrait (300x1050) : Appears on the right side of the home page and all pages on the site.
Billboard (970x250) : Appears on the home page.
Submission of Materials : Banner ads can be in jpeg, jpg and gif format. All materials must be deliverd via electronic medium. All ads must be delivered via electronic version, either on disk or e-mail in the ordered pixel dimensions unless otherwise noted.
For advertising offers, send an email with your name,company, website, country and advert or sponsored post you want to appear on our website to advert @ alexa. ng
Normally, we should respond within 48 hours.