Pakistani high court upholds death sentence of Christian brothers charged with blasphemy

The High Court in Lahore, Pakistan, has upheld the death sentence of two Christian brothers charged with blasphemy.

Qaiser and Amoon Ayub were accused of posting blasphemous content online in 2011. 

They have always maintained their innocence. Amoon believes that the website where the blasphemous material was shared was created by his brother's Muslim friends to settle a score.

In December 2018, Qaiser and Amoon were found guilty after standing trial and they were both sentenced to death.

They were also ordered to pay a 100,000 rupee (around £400) fine. 

They have been defended in their case by the Christian charity CLAAS, which submitted an appeal to the High Court against the death sentence.

The appeal was heard in February and the judgment upholding their death sentence was announced on Wednesday. 

CLAAS said it would now appeal to the Supreme Court.

Nasir Saeed, Director of CLAAS-UK, said, "We all were hoping that because the court had reserved the verdict, and because they were taking so long to announce it, blasphemy charges against them would be dropped and both would be freed.

"But to the contrary, the High court upheld their death sentence. Both brothers were looking weak as they are already suffering from health issues."

Saeed said he was "very hopeful" that the brothers will eventually be freed when the case comes before the Pakistan Supreme Court. 

"Unfortunately, we cannot tell how long it will take but we are hopeful that the country's highest court will do justice," he said. 

"This will be the third case of blasphemy which will be heard by the Supreme Court. We still believe that the brothers are innocent and it has not been proved that they had published any blasphemous contents."

News
Major UK supermarket clothing brands fall behind Primark in ethical fashion rankings
Major UK supermarket clothing brands fall behind Primark in ethical fashion rankings

BMS said that even the highest-rated companies have considerable room for improvement.

Fresh violence in Manipur leaves four dead as security is tightened
Fresh violence in Manipur leaves four dead as security is tightened

Security forces have stepped up operations in affected areas amid fears of further unrest.

Church of England faces ‘financial disaster’ without radical cuts, academics warn
Church of England faces ‘financial disaster’ without radical cuts, academics warn

A new report argues that dioceses have been strengthened at the expense of ordinary parishes.

Southwell Minster faces closure amid £20m funding crisis
Southwell Minster faces closure amid £20m funding crisis

Southwell Minster is seeking urgent financial support to keep its doors open after decades of underinvestment that has left it needing around £20m to safeguard its historic building and grounds.