Hotline Asia Urgent Appeals -- SUA010802(3)

Action Requested || Sample Letter || Background
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Summary

On 24 July 2001, the Multan Bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) rejected the appeal of Ayub Masih and confirmed the death sentence given to him under a 1998 Blasphemy case. According to the legal process in Pakistan, the appeal has to go to the Supreme Court (The Highest Court) within 30 days for confirmation before the date of execution is decided.

Ayub Masih, a Christian, was arrested in October 1996 on the charge of making derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad, and was given the death sentence in April 1998 (In 1998, Hotline issued UA980505(3) to request for a fair and open re-trial for Ayub Masih, as well as the assurance that his family, sympathizers and lawyers be protected against any harassment or revenge). This case received international attention when Bishop John Joseph, the Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad Diocese, committed suicide in May 1998 as a protest against the unjust verdict created by the Blasphemy Laws.

To build pressure before and during court proceedings at the Supreme Court, please write polite letters to show your concern over the Death Sentence awarded to Ayub Masih under the Blasphemy Laws and request the authorities to:
1. Review the death sentence of Ayub Masih in the interest of justice;
2. Make efforts for the repeal of the Blasphemy Laws.

Sample Letter

Background

Justice denied and threatened:

Christians of the village of Arifwala (Southern Punjab, 700 km from the capital Islamabad) were forced to evacuate when tensions mounted between the landless Christian peasants and the land-owning Muslims in the area. Ayub Masih, a Christian, was accused of blasphemy during a dispute with a Muslim villager on 14 October 1996. (local sources claim that the accusation against Ayub was a tactic used by some Muslim groups against the Christian minority so that the latter would not be able to reclaim their land and be expelled from the village.)

Ayub Masih was charged under Section 295-C of Pakistan Penal Code - the offense of blasphemy, including speaking or writing against Prophet Mohammed or Islam, 'shall be punished with the death sentence or imprisonment for life and shall be liable to fine.' The condition for imprisonment for life came to an end in 1990, and the death sentence was made mandatory for blaspheming the name of the Holy Prophet.

An Additional Sessions Judge at Sahiwal, announced Ayub's death sentence on 27 April 1998. When the case was filed, the prosecution had relied only on the verbal testimony of the complainants and there was no circumstantial evidence or investigation to prove the allegation against the accused. Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad Diocese, Bishop John Joseph sacrificed his life as a protest against this verdict.

The appeal of Ayub Masih remained pending without any hearing for about two and a half years in the High Court. The case did not receive proper hearing and it was conducted only on 24 July 2001.

On 24 July 2001, the Multan Bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) comprising Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif and Justice Naeem Ullah Khan Sherani rejected the appeal and upheld the death sentence awarded by the sessions court to Ayub Masih.

According to a local newspaper, on the day of hearing, the Multan Bench of the Lahore High Court was filled with extremists who threatened the court and the lawyers of Ayub Masih, (Nawa-e-Waqt Multan, 26 July 2001). Advocate Sajjad Haider Zaidi, the lawyer who pleaded the case on behalf of Ayub Masih, lodged a formal complaint of the incident with the local police.

According to local sources, this is the first time that a high court has confirmed the punishment. Previously, the sessions courts (Lower Courts) award the accused with punishment, under the pressure of the extremists. However, when they appealed in the high court, they were released (as in the case of Arif Hussain Bhatti, a high court Judge, who was subsequently murdered, released Rehmat and Salamat Masih in a Blasphemy Case in October 1997). In Ayub's case, the pressure of the extremists on the high court judges was great enough to pressure the latter to uphold the sentence.

WHY BLASPHEMY LAWS SHOULD BE REPEALED:
The Blasphemy law in Pakistan existed since 1860 under British Criminal Law, and was modified in 1986 and 1991 when criminal law was Islamicised by the then dictatorship. Under the vague and arbitrary definition of blasphemy, an offence punishable by a mandatory death sentence, it makes no stipulation about the actual intention of such acts, nor does it precisely define the crime it is meant to punish.

The charges of blasphemy always appear to be arbitrarily brought or founded on malicious accusations against individuals. This law has a history of abuse and is a convenient means to settle personal scores. Even those not present at the time of the alleged 'offence' can file a complaint. The victims are both religious minorities and Muslims.

Human rights groups have long demanded that Section 295-C of the PPC (or the "Blasphemy Laws") be repealed because it is often used against religious minorities or in personal vendettas and land disputes.

[For more information about the "Blasphemy Laws", please refer to UA980505(3), UA000525(8), UA001103(16).]

Please remember to send copies of your letters to Hotline Asia for monitoring purpose.
Thank you for Your Continued Support!!