Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar blasphemy case

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Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar
شفقت عمانوایل اور شگفتہ کوثر
Born
Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar
Nationality Pakistani
Known for Sentenced to death for blasphemy

Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar are a Pakistani Christian couple who in 2014 were convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court, receiving a sentence of death by hanging. In 2021, the convictions were overturned. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The couple

Married couple Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar were living in poverty with their four children in a mission compound of Gojra Church in Toba Tek Singh District in Punjab, Pakistan. Kausar was the only working person in the family. Emmanuel was confined to a wheelchair, due to an accident in 2004 that resulted him in suffering a spinal injury, causing him to be paralyzed below the chest. [4] According to Shagufta, the injury was caused by a stray bullet that hit him. [5]

Prosecution

In July 2013, Emmanuel and Kausar were arrested for sending a text message that was deemed blasphemous against the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Shagufta stated the following: "In the police station, we were tortured. The officers told my husband that if he didn't confess, they would strip me naked and make me run in the street. The police also hanged Shafqat upside down and beat him with the back of a rifle." Under severe pressure, Shafqat confessed, even though they were both innocent. [5]

On 4 April 2014, the illiterate couple [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] were given death sentences for sending the message in English. Despite the couple being illiterate, the additional session judge of Toba Tek Singh sentenced them death on 4 April 2014. They are the first Pakistani couple to have been given the death sentence for blasphemy. The couple said that the complainants' lawyers kept proclaiming Koranic references that called for death to blasphemers. Even the prosecuting attorneys told the judge that if he will not give them death sentence, they would be ready to become ghazi (Muslim warriors), like Ilm-ud-din and Mumtaz Qadri.[ citation needed ] Due to the high risk to the couple's security, the whole trial was concluded inside the boundary walls of the prison. In the beginning, the couple were defended by the Farrukh Saif Foundation and their Partner Emergency Rescue Committee. They filed the appeal in the Apex Court against the death sentence. According to Shagufta, neither she nor her husband were allowed to testify, and their lawyers were not allowed to make their closing arguments. [5]

While on death row, Shagufta was offered the possibility of converting to Islam and possibly having her sentence commuted. "Several times I was told that if I converted to Islam my death sentence would be turned into life in prison, and that eventually I would be released. I always said no", she claimed, in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need. [13] At one point she was in the same prison as Asia Bibi. Their cells were close together. "For a while Asia Bibi, who was also sentenced to death on false charges of blasphemy, was my neighbour on death row in Multan. Whenever we met, we used to pray together, console each other and renew our firm faith in Jesus Christ. At Christmas time we would share cake with other Muslim and Christian prisoners. When I heard that Asia was set free, my heart was filled with joy, and I was convinced that one day I too would be released". [5]

Appeal against the death sentence

On 8 April 2014, the Farrukh Saif Foundation [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] filed appeal against the death sentence of Emmanuel and Kausar. Eventually, the family decided to switch organizations. With support from a coalition of various Christian international organizations from the West, they hired the Pakistani lawyer and human rights defender Saif-Ul-Malook, who worked tirelessly for their cause.Pakistan overturns Christian couple's blasphemy death sentences Saif-Ul-Malook also represented Asia Bibi and secured her acquittal on 31 October 2018.Pakistan overturns Christian couple's blasphemy death sentences

In April 2021, the European Parliament passed a motion condemning Pakistan for failing to protect religious minorities, focusing on the case of Ms Kausar and Mr Emmanuel.Pakistan overturns Christian couple's blasphemy death sentences

On 3 June 2021, the Lahore High Court overturned the convictions due to lack of evidence. [20] Shagufta, Shafqat, and their family remain eternally grateful for the efforts of Members of the European Parliament in advocating for their case and demanding their freedom. After their acquittal, the couple were unable to remain in Pakistan, due to lack of safety, and were given asylum in a European country. [13]

Book regarding her experience

In 2024, Shagufta Kausar published her book, Under Threat of Death: A Mother's Faith in the Face of Injustice, Imprisonment, and Persecution, co-written with author Eugene Bach and available on Amazon. The book recounts Shagufta's experiences growing up in Pakistan, her arrest, and her time in prison. She shares how her faith as a Christian and the comfort she received from God sustained her through these trials.

She also highlighted the important role her brother, Joseph, played in the fight for her freedom and eventual acquittal.

Related Research Articles

Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic ones, regard blasphemy as a crime, including insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, speaking the sacred name in Judaism, and blasphemy of God's Holy Spirit is an eternal sin in Christianity. It was also a crime under English common law, and it is still a crime under Italian law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Pakistan</span>

Christianity is the third largest religion in Pakistan and the second largest Abrahamic religion there, making up about 1.37% of the population according to the 2023 Census. Of these, approximately half are Catholic and half Protestant. A small number of Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Oriental Orthodox Christians also live in Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Pakistan</span>

The situation of human rights in Pakistan is complex as a result of the country's diversity, large population, its status as a developing country and a sovereign Islamic democracy with a mixture of both Islamic and secular law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blasphemy in Pakistan</span> Pakistani penal code on insulting religion

The Pakistan Penal Code outlaws blasphemy against any recognized religion, with punishments ranging from a fine to the death penalty. According to various human rights organizations, Pakistan's blasphemy laws have been used to persecute religious minorities and settle personal rivalries, frequently against other Muslims, rather than to safeguard religious sensibilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam and blasphemy</span> Overview of Islamic views on blasphemy

In Islam, blasphemy is impious utterance or action concerning God, but is broader than in normal English usage, including not only the mocking or vilifying of attributes of Islam but denying any of the fundamental beliefs of the religion. Examples include denying that the Quran was divinely revealed, the Prophethood of one of the Islamic prophets, insulting an angel, or maintaining God had a son.

Kot Radha Kishan is a city and Tehsil headquarters of Kot Radha Kishan Tehsil in Kasur District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is administratively subdivided into four Union councils. It was formerly part of Kasur Tehsil and now it has been rewarded with the status of tehsil of district kasur due to the basic necessities of the current time and the mounting population of the area .It is located at 31°10'21N 74°5'59E with an altitude of 193 metres. Kot Radha Kishan is also called 'City of Containers and Leather'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blasphemy law</span> Law prohibiting blasphemy

A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, which is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Research Center, about a quarter of the world's countries and territories (26%) had anti-blasphemy laws or policies as of 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asia Bibi blasphemy case</span> 2010 Pakistani criminal case

In 2010, a Pakistani Christian woman, Aasiya Noreen, commonly known as Asia Bibi or Aasia Bibi, was convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court and was sentenced to death by hanging. In October 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted her based on insufficient evidence, though she was not allowed to leave Pakistan until the verdict was reviewed. She was held under armed guard and was not able to leave the country until 7 May 2019; she arrived in Canada the next day.

Persecution of Christians in Pakistan has been recorded since the country's independence in 1947. The persecution has taken many forms, including violence, discrimination, and blasphemy laws.

Irreligion is present among a minority of mainly young people in Pakistan. Atheists in Pakistan face discrimination, persecution, and prejudice in society. Pakistan is reported by some sources to be among the thirteen countries where atheism can attract capital punishment, but according to the Library of Congress of the United States, "there is no specific statutory law that criminalizes apostasy in Pakistan." On the other hand, the Pakistani government can impose the death penalty for blasphemy.

Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, better known as Mumtaz Qadri, was a Pakistani Elite Police commando who is known for murdering Salmaan Taseer, Governor of Punjab. Qadri was a commando of the Elite Police and, at the time of the assassination, a member of the squad of personal bodyguards assigned to protect Taseer. A follower of the Barelvi version of Sunni Islam, he assassinated Taseer on 4 January 2011. He claimed to have killed the Governor because Taseer spoke in defense of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. Qadri was convicted by the Islamabad High Court, sentenced to death and hanged in February 2016.

George Naz a Pakistani Christian who led the protest against the Badami Bagh arson in Jehlum in March 2013, himself became the target of the strict anti-blasphemy law. Naz an employee of the District Municipal Administration, Jehlum as well a known Christian local leader led the protest against the misuse of the blasphemy laws. A banner which read as "Blasphemy law is back law and a hanging sword on Christians" became the bone of contention. On 21 March 2013, a First information report was registered against him in the local police station in Jehlum City. He was rescued by Farrukh Saif Foundation and their Partner Keith Davies in 2014, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees granted him refugee status in 2017.

Mashal Khan was a student at the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan who was killed by an angry mob in the premises of the university on 13 April 2017, over allegations of posting blasphemous content online. Following investigations, the Inspector General Police later stated "We did not find any concrete evidence under which [a blasphemy] investigation or legal action can be launched against Mashal, Abdullah or Zubair". Mashal's friend Abdullah stated to the police in writing that both Mashal and Abdullah were devout Muslims, but were actively denouncing mismanagement by the university and had previously led protests against it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan</span> Far-right Islamist Political Party in Pakistan

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan is a far-right Islamist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Khadim Hussain Rizvi in August 2015. It was the fifth largest party in Pakistan at the time of the 2018 Pakistani general election, and secured over 2.2 million votes. TLP currently holds one seat(Mehmood Ahmad PP-55 Narowal-II) in the Punjab Assembly of Pakistan.

<i>Blasphemy: A Memoir</i> 2011 book by Anne-Isabelle Tollet and Aasiya Noreen

Blasphemy: A Memoir: Sentenced to Death over a Cup of Water is a book by French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet and Aasiya Noreen better known as Asia Bibi. It is about the real-life story of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who was sentenced to death after being convicted of blasphemy by a Pakistani court, in 2010 and is in jail in solitary confinement. She was tried after a dispute over drinking water with her Muslim neighbours after she drank water from the same cup as her Muslim neighbours in a rural village in the Sheikhupura District of Punjab, Pakistan in which she was accused of allegedly insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a charge she has denied. The book was dictated by Asia Bibi, an illiterate and mother of five, to her husband from jail

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khadim Hussain Rizvi</span> Pakistani Islamic preacher (1966–2020)

Khadim Hussain Rizvi was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and the founder and Ameer of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, a religiopolitical organization founded in 2015, known to protest against any change to Pakistan's blasphemy law.

Shafqat is a given name. Notable people with the name include:

On 12 May 2022, Deborah Samuel Yakubu, a second-year Christian college student, was stoned to death by a mob of Muslim students in Sokoto, Nigeria, after being accused of blasphemy against Islam. The muslim suspects arrested were charged with "Criminal conspiracy and incitement of public disturbance", bailable offences with a maximum 2 year jail time. A team of 34 lawyers led by Prof. Mansur Ibrahim defended the suspects who were subsequently acquitted by the court citing non-showing of prosecution lawyers.

In the Jaranwala church arsons, 26 Christian churches in Jaranwala, Punjab, Pakistan were burnt down by acts of arson, and homes belonging to Christian families were looted and destroyed by rioters on August 16, 2023; Bible desecration was committed as well. The attacks were carried out by mobs of Muslims who were enraged by allegations that a Christian man had desecrated the Quran. No deaths were reported. More than a hundred rioters, that included members of the far-right group Tehreek-e-Labbaik, have since been arrested.

References

  1. ↑ "Pakistani couple get death sentences for blasphemy". BBC News. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "ASIA/PAKISTAN - Legal battle after the death sentence of a Christian couple for blasphemous SMS" . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Christian Couple in Pakistan Sentenced to Death for 'Blasphemy'". 5 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Christian Couple Victims of Blasphemy Laws". 5 March 2016 – via YouTube.
  5. 1 2 3 4 ACN (6 May 2022). "Pakistan: "I spent eight years on death row after being falsely accused of blasphemy"". ACN International. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  6. ↑ "Christians in Pakistan sentenced to death over a text". Telegraph.co.uk. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Illiterate Christian Couple Sentenced to Death for Blasphemous Text Messages in Pakistan". Christian Post. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Couple gets death over 'blasphemous' text message". The Express Tribune. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Christian couple get death sentence in blasphemy case" . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Pakistan Sentences Christian Couple To Death" . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  11. ↑ "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 28 Apr 2014 (pt 0006)" . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "Motion for a resolution on Pakistan: recent cases of persecution - B7-0401/2014" . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  13. 1 2 ACN (6 May 2022). "Pakistan: "I spent eight years on death row after being falsely accused of blasphemy"". ACN International. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "International Appeal for Justice and Compassion: The Heartbreaking Case of Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagfuta Kausar: By Farrukh Saif Foundation". 5 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "FSF -Filed the appeal against the Death sentence of Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kasuar". Farrukh Saif Foundation. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "Pakistan Christian Post" . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "Agenzia Fides News" . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  18. ↑ "You are being redirected..." 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  19. ↑ Pakistan Today, International Christian Concern, Christian Post (25 February 2016). "Illiterate Christians Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy". The Voice of the Martyrs Canada. Retrieved 17 April 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ "Pakistan overturns Christian couple's blasphemy death sentences". BBC News. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
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