Pak professor sentenced to death for blasphemy

A Pakistani court yesterday sentenced a university professor to death for blasphemy under a law that critics say is often used to target minorities and liberal activists.

Junaid Hafeez, 33, was arrested in March 2013 for allegedly posting derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed on social media.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in conservative Muslim-majority Pakistan, where laws against it carry a potential death sentence. Even unproven allegations have led to mob lynchings and vigilante murders.

Hafeez's sentence was announced in central city of Multan, where he was a university professor at the time of his arrest, and his counsel Asad Jamal slammed the decision as "most unfortunate".

"We will appeal against this verdict," Jamal told AFP.

Government lawyer Azim Chaudhry hailed the decision while fellow lawyer Airaz Ali said it was a "victory of truthfulness and righteousness."

Rights group Amnesty International said the verdict was "a gross miscarriage of justice".

"Junaid Hafeez's death sentence is a gross miscarriage of justice and the verdict... is extremely disappointing and surprising," Amnesty's Rabia Mehmood said.

Hafeez's lawyer was killed in 2014 after receiving death threats during a hearing.

About 40 people convicted of blasphemy are on death row in Pakistan, according to a 2018 estimate by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.