ISLAMABAD   -  Presiding officer of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Court, Islamabad, Judge Afzal Majoka has awarded death penalty to a lady named Shagufta Kiran, life imprisonment to Muhammad Hasim, and acquitted a man named Aftab Nazir on blasphemy charges on September 18.

A case was registered against Shagufta Kiran on 21-07-2021 at Cyber Crime Reporting Center, Islamabad, on offenses under section 11 PECA, 2016, read with sections 295-A / 295-C / 298 / 298-A / 109 Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 in FIR no 51.

According to the judgment, a complaint was submitted by Shiraz Ahmed Farooqi at FIR Cyber Crime Reporting Center Islamabad on 23-09-2020 that blasphemous contents were being uploaded on Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Messenger, and the accused had sent blasphemous content on his WhatsApp.

After getting search warrants from the competent court, when FIA conducted the raid, they took into possession three mobile phones, 5 SIMs, including the questioned SIMs, one laptop, one tablet, and one CPU.

During the investigation, it came to notice that the accused number was found to be one of the admins of the said group, and the creator of this group was Aameer Faisal, an Indian national.

The judgment stated that this court is not aware of the fact that mere matching of the voice is not enough to convict the accused until and unless it is proved that the voice/video messages of the accused contain blasphemous material. The judgment further read that an officer of Forensic produced a written transcript of two voices out of 18 audios. About 76000 audios of WhatsApp groups were also examined, out of which 84 audios of the accused were also presented in court in transcripts.

The 342 CrPC statement of Shagufta Kiran in the judgment is written as, “I am a poor Christian lady, and the complainant, with the collusion of FIA officials, falsely charged me to score points in the eyes of the public. I have not committed the offense and can never think at all of disgracing the noble personalities of Islam. I have been victimized by the complainant party as they’re trying to impose their own theory of Islam on me, but I, being Christian, respect my own religion, Christianity, and I believe in it as a true religion. due to this personal grudge and ulterior motive, I have been trapped in this false case.”

It is also stated in the judgment that, the lady accused opted not to appear in witness box u/s 340(2) CrPC. She did not produce any evidence in defense.

The judgment stated that from perusal of above mentioned voice messages and text messages it established that the accused repeatedly and intentionally used derogatory remarks in respect of last prophet of Allah Almighty and defiled the sacred name of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

According to the judgment, the prosecution has been able to prove its case against the accused. Accordingly, the accused is convicted u/s 295-C to death with a fine of Rs. 300,000. In case of non-payment of fine, the convict will suffer 6 months of simple imprisonment. Moreover, the accused was also convicted under section 11 of PECA, 2016, and was sentenced to 07 years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 100,000. In case of non-payment of the fine, the convict will suffer 1 month of simple imprisonment. The convict shall be hanged by her neck till she is dead, subject to confirmation of death punishment by the Islamabad High Court.

The lady was produced before the court via video link because of her safety.