Pakistan court questions digital evidence in delayed blasphemy appeal

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Tuesday directed prosecutors to respond on whether digital evidence can be admitted in the long-pending appeal of Junaid Hafeez, a former university lecturer sentenced to death in 2019 on blasphemy charges.

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws prohibit acts considered insulting to religion, and a conviction for insulting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) carries a mandatory death sentence. Although no one has been executed by the state for blasphemy, such accusations have often led to mob violence, while defendants, their lawyers and others involved in the cases have faced threats and attacks. Rights groups say these pressures can make it difficult for accused people to secure legal representation and a fair trial.

Hafeez was arrested in 2013 over material allegedly posted on Facebook, and his trial was later moved inside a prison because of security concerns. In 2014, gunmen killed one of his lawyers, Rashid Rehman, after he received threats for defending him. Hafeez was sentenced to death in December 2019, and his appeal has remained pending since 2020. Human Rights Watch says he has been held in solitary confinement since June 2014.

“I think that significant progress was made today,” Hafeez’s lawyer, Asad Jamal, told Arab News. “The court took up the case, and importantly, it raised the key issues that the prosecution must address. The court instructed them to satisfy the bench on the grounds raised in Junaid Hafeez’s appeal.”

A two-judge bench of the Lahore High Court issued formal notices to the parties and said it wanted to hear the prosecution’s arguments on the admissibility of electronic evidence, including a Facebook page attributed to Hafeez. Jamal said the court had also asked prosecutors to establish the authenticity of the digital material. The judges did not issue any ruling on Tuesday regarding the evidence or Hafeez’s conviction.

“The court explicitly stated that the prosecution must satisfy the court regarding the authenticity of the digital or social media evidence,” Jamal said.

Hafeez was a visiting lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan when he was arrested in March 2013. His trial began the following year and was repeatedly delayed before a Multan court sentenced him to death. His appeal was transferred from the high court’s Multan bench to its principal seat in Lahore in 2021 at the defence’s request.

The bench had considered hearing the case again on October 7, but scheduled it for October 10 after the complainant’s lawyer requested more time to prepare.

“I am hopeful that a decision on this appeal will be reached very soon,” Jamal said.

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