This is the second instance in a week in which the death penalty has been issued for infringement of contentious blasphemy laws. In addition, she was sentenced to 24 years in jail and fined 200,000 rupees. She appears to have utilised certain applications to disseminate images of Muslim religious icons on social media. Her pal turned her in. According to some rumours, he exacted his vengeance on her after being rejected.
On January 19, a district court in Rawalpindi sentenced a woman, Aniqa Atiq, to death for “uploading blasphemous comments and statuses on WhatsApp”.
Rawalpindi Sessions Court Judge Adnan Mushtaq delivered the verdict after more than 18 months of jail trial. Aniqa, a former medical student, is 26 years old. She is a resident of Islamabad. The court sentenced him to a total of 20 years hard labor and also imposed a fine.
The case against Aniqa Atiq was registered in May 2020 in the Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency under the Electronic Crimes Act (PICA) 2016. It includes provisions for sharing blasphemous content on digital media and social media applications. Hasnat Farooq, an extremist religious man in the mid-20’s who now owns a small business, was a university student at the time. A case was registered against the accused after he was engaged in a conversation with. Via another social media application.
Complainant Hasnat Farooq declined to comment directly on the case. He says he came in contact with Aniqa Atiq through a private social media app used for chatting, which allows people living in the same area to connect. After chatting on the application for a few months, they started chatting on WhatsApp. One person involved in the case said the conversation gradually turned to religious questions, arguments and ideas.
The court ruled that the accused made objectionable remarks about the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and uploaded insulting pictures and statuses about him and Hazrat Ayesha (RA) on WhatsApp.
The defense claims that a trap was set for him. The complainant was part of a group playing pub. There were only two Pakistanis in the group and they became friends over chat. Later, they started a separate conversation. The accused, who is a married woman, refused to meet the complainant’s request to meet in person, “said a person close to the accused on condition of anonymity. The complainant denies the allegation. ۔
The FIA conducted the investigation improperly. The court was not provided with a complete record of the conversation. Only part of the conversation is in the case file. There was no forensic examination of the conversation for several months, “the man said. He said the family had appealed against the sentence.
An active member of the Tehreek-e-Tahfaz-e-Namos Rasalat, a group pursuing the case, said Ms Atiq “had anti-Islamic views and did not show any remorse.”
“Unlimited access to the internet and huge social media space is a big problem for many young people. There are many groups online and on various apps that mislead young people,” said Rao, the complainant’s lawyer. Abdul Rahim says. He says he has been prosecuting blasphemers for more than a decade. He says he does not enjoy or value blasphemy cases. He also said that the state should take action against violations of freedom of expression. He says An organized campaign is being launched to divert the attention of Pakistani youth. That in many cases it leads to blasphemy.
Human rights defenders say that in some Muslim-majority countries with major radical groups, the state’s administrative, investigative and judicial machinery sometimes overlooks the complainant’s support and obligation to remain impartial and impartial. Is. Then the accused do not get justice.
In his judgment, the judge noted that at one point in the conversation, the perpetrator indicated that he had stopped being a Muslim. He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture.
He also noted that the culprit had insulted the Holy Prophet (PBUH) as well as his wife Ayesha (RA).
Following the verdict and various reactions, two hashtags started appearing on Twitter: “Save Aniqa” and “Hang Aniqa”. Pressurize to save and the other is demanding that the sentence be carried out as soon as possible.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUL2NkNzcCw&w=640&h=360]
