Pakistani woman sentenced to death for “blasphemy”

A Pakistani court sentenced a Muslim woman to death on Tuesday for writings described as offensive to the Prophet Mahomet ( may the peace and prayer of God be upon him ) under the country’s “blasphemy” laws.

The verdict of a district court in the Eastern city of Lahore said: “It has been proven beyond any doubt that the accused Salma Tanwir wrote and distributed writings offensive to the Prophet Mahomet.”

The case dates back to 2013 when a local imam filed a complaint against the woman, alleging that she was a prophet.

Defense lawyer Mian Mohammad Ramadan said that the woman was “mentally deranged when what happened” and that she was not a writer of leaflets.

Today’s verdict is preliminary and women have the right to appeal it before the Lahore High Court.

Blasphemy is a sensitive topic in Pakistan, as those charged could become targets of vigilante Islamist groups.

“In some cases, they were shot dead, burned alive, or beaten to death with batons.”