FEATURED POST

To U.S. Death Row Inmates, Today's Election is a Matter of Life or Death

Published
Image
You don't have to tell Daniel Troya and the 40 other denizens of federal death row locked in shed-sized solitary cells for 23 hours a day, every day, that elections have consequences. To them, from inside the U.S. government's only death row located in Terre Haute, Indiana, Tuesday's election is quite literally a matter of life and death: If Kamala Harris wins, they live; if Donald Trump wins, they die. "He's gonna kill everyone here that he can," Troya, 41, said in an email from behind bars. "That's as easy to predict as the sun rising."
Post a Comment

Pakistan | Two Christians accused of blasphemy risk the death penalty

Published

It is the second case of blasphemy against Christians since the beginning of 2021. According to plaintiff Haroon Ayub Masih and Salamat Mansha Masih wounded the feelings of Muslims as they preached the gospel in Model Town Park. The first was arrested, while the second managed to flee but his family lives in hiding in fear of retaliation.

Lahore (AsiaNews) - Two evangelical Christians will have to answer for blasphemy charges, for having - according to the accusers - used words that are offensive towards the Prophet Mohammed citing a passage from the Bible.

The event dates to February 13: plaintiff Haroon Ahmad claims that Haroon Ayub Masih and Salamat Mansha Masih injured the feelings of Muslims while preaching Christianity in Model Town Park, a suburb of Lahore (in Punjab).

According to some testimonies, Haroon Ahmad, a student, was sitting with Harris Khalid, Zakir Ali and Zulkarneen, a friend of theirs in Model Town Park. The two Christians, Haroon and Salamt, approached them by starting a discussion about religions and giving them a Christian book entitled "Water of Life".

During the discussion, the two allegedly used offensive words, claiming that Muhammad had strayed from the path of religion while Christ never married, thus fulfilling the prophecies.

According to Ahmad, the two Christians also accused the prophet of having married to increase his own dynasty, affirming that the book containing the truth is the Bible while the Koran is not a true book of faith.

The discussion would have turned into a heated argument, which ended with the accusation against Haroon and Salamt of having used offensive words against Muhammad and Islam.

In order not to leave a crime unpunished, Haroon Ahmad went to the Model Town Police Station and filed a complaint (FIR # 61/21) under Articles 295-A, 295-B 295-C of the Pakistani Penal Code. The first punishes those who offend the religious sensibilities of others, the second those who profane the Koran and the third those who use derogatory words towards Muhammad (the latter punishable by death).

Police immediately took action and arrested Salamat Mansha, while his friend Haroon Ayub managed to escape and his family now lives in hiding in fear of retaliation.

Christians are the third religion in Pakistan, accounting for 1.6% of the total population. 

Blasphemy laws have long been used to resolve disputes or personal issues and have involved hundreds of Christians, as well as Muslims and Ahmadis themselves.

 Often, in the past, the accusation of blasphemy proved to be a pretext for attacking crowds or entire communities, while last year it proved to be one of the greatest abuses in the use of the blasphemy law.

Shabbir Shafqat, president of the National Christian Party, points out that it is the second case of blasphemy against a Christian in 2021. 

The first concerns the nurse and gospel singer Tabita Gill, from Karachi, accused by her colleagues. “We are against the abuses linked to this law”, concludes the politician.

Source: asianews.it, Shafique Khokhar, February 16, 2021


🚩 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!



"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Location: Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

To U.S. Death Row Inmates, Today's Election is a Matter of Life or Death

Published
Image
You don't have to tell Daniel Troya and the 40 other denizens of federal death row locked in shed-sized solitary cells for 23 hours a day, every day, that elections have consequences. To them, from inside the U.S. government's only death row located in Terre Haute, Indiana, Tuesday's election is quite literally a matter of life and death: If Kamala Harris wins, they live; if Donald Trump wins, they die. "He's gonna kill everyone here that he can," Troya, 41, said in an email from behind bars. "That's as easy to predict as the sun rising."
Read more

Idaho | Federal Judge Grants Stay of Execution for Thomas Creech; Defense Asks Court to Bar Death Penalty for Bryan Kohberger

Published
Image
After surviving a botched execution attempt in February, Thomas Creech (pictured) was scheduled for  execution a second time on November 13 in Idaho. On Wednesday, November 6, a federal district court issued a stay of execution to allow more time to consider Mr. Creech’s legal claims. The Idaho Department of Corrections announced that “execution preparations have been suspended” and the execution warrant will expire.
Read more

Indiana | Media unlikely to witness first execution in 15 years

Published
Image
Hoosier prison staffers, the condemned’s friends and family members, and the victims’ family members may soon witness the state of Indiana’s first execution since 2009. But it’s likely that no independent witnesses will be included. Joseph Corcoran, who killed four people in 1997, is scheduled to be executed Dec. 18. In Indiana, the death penalty is only available for the crime of murder. It will also be the state’s first time killing a prisoner with pentobarbital instead of a traditional three-drug cocktail.
Read more

Afghanistan | Taliban Carry Out Sixth Public Execution Since 2021

Published
Image
Taliban authorities in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday executed a convicted murderer by gunfire at a sports stadium, in the sixth public execution since their return to power. The condemned man was shot with three bullets to the chest by a member of the victim's family in front of thousands of spectators in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. The evening before the execution the governor's office called on officials and residents to "attend this event" on social media.
Read more

China | Three child rapists executed after top court approves sentence

Published
Image
Three child rapists were executed on Wednesday after their death sentences were approved by China's top court, showing the country's "zero tolerance" against those harming juveniles. The behaviors of the three criminals, who had sexually assaulted and raped girls for a long time or several times, greatly damaged the physical and mental health of the minors and seriously challenged the legal and moral bottom line, bringing extremely negative effects to society, the Supreme People's Court said.
Read more

Iran hangs man 'for second time' after previous execution halted: NGO

Published
Image
Paris (AFP) – Iran hanged a 26-year-old man for a second time Wednesday months after a previous execution was halted half a minute in, an NGO said. Ahmad Alizadeh was arrested in October 2018 on a murder charge, which he denied, and was sentenced to death, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), which tracks executions in Iran, said in a statement. His death sentence was carried out on April 27 in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj outside Tehran. But just 28 seconds into the hanging he was brought down from the gallows when the victim's family suddenly shouted "forgiveness". His "lifeless" body was successfully resuscitated and the execution was halted, IHR said.
Read more

Burkina Faso aims to reinstate death penalty, government source says

Published
Image
Burkina Faso's military regime wants to reinstate the death penalty, which was abolished in the country in 2018, a government source told AFP news agency on Saturday.  The latest execution in Burkina Faso was in 1988, according to rights group Amnesty International. It concerned four leaders accused of an attempted coup d’état to depose president Blaise Compaoré – defence minister Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani, minister of economic promotion Henri Zongo, and two unidentified men.
Read more

U.S. will appeal judge's ruling that 9/11 defendants can plead guilty and avoid the death penalty

Published
Image
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department will appeal a military judge's ruling that plea agreements struck by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and two of his co-defendants are valid, a defense official said Saturday. The ruling this past week voided Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's order to throw out the deals and concluded that the plea agreements were valid. The judge granted the three motions to enter guilty pleas and said he would schedule them for a future date to be determined by the military commission.
Read more