Home / News / Urgent Appeals / PAKISTAN: Another person sentenced to death under blasphemy law
 

PAKISTAN: Another person sentenced to death under blasphemy law

July 31, 2002

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

1 August 2002 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
UA-35-2002: Another person sentenced to death under blasphemy law 

PAKISTAN: Religious persecution and denial of religious freedom
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Mr. Anwar Kenneth, former Fisheries Dept. officer
Court: Additional sessions court in Lahore
Date of sentence: July 18, 2002
Sentence: Death and fine of US$8,335 

CASE DETAILS

An additional sessions judge in Lahore imposed the death penalty and a fine of 500,000 rupees (US$8,335) on Mr. Anwar Kenneth, a former officer in the government's Fisheries Dept., in a blasphemy case that was registered with the Gawalmandi police in Pakistan.

Mr. Kenneth was arrested by Gawalmandi police officer Zaffar-u-ullah on June 15, 2001, while distributing a pamphlet (Gospel of Jesus). As reported by Peace Worldwide, a Christian non-governmental organization (NGO) in Pakistan, Mr. Kenneth made a statement before the court that he had done nothing wrong. He also sent a copy of his letter to the Gawalmandi police after which a first investigation report (FIR) was lodged against him. A case of blasphemy was subsequently registered against Mr. Kenneth that resulted in the court issuing a death sentence against him on July 18, 2002.

Death sentences are being imposed in blasphemy cases on a regular basis in Pakistan. At least three death penalties have been issued in blasphemy cases in the past month. Prior to Mr. Kenneth's death sentence, Mr. Kingri Masih was sentenced to death in a sessions court in Faisalabad on June 29. Subsequently, Mr. Wajih-ul-Hassan has been sentenced to death in Lahore on July 27.

Section 295C of Pakistan's Penal Code provides the death penalty for "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of The Holy Prophet (Peace be Upon Him)

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to point out that this law is vague and open to abuse. Its unclear scope imposes a harsh burden on non-Muslims in Pakistan and is a severe limit on religious freedom, as it effectively targets religious minorities in Pakistan. The law has also often been used by those with personal grudges, as well as against Muslims who have converted to Christianity; when Pakistan's leader, General Musharraf, considered amending the law to limit such potential abuses, pressure from Islamic hardliners caused him to abandon these amendments, so the law remains open to much abuse. 

AHRC further points out that norms of international law require abolition of the death penalty or at least its restriction to the most limited possible set of crimes, with stringent legal protections. The application of the death penalty in the context of Pakistan's blasphemy offence violates standards of international law.

Advocate Pervaiz Aslam Chowdhry, quoted by Peace Worldwide, said that there were errors in the proceedings in Mr. Kenneth's case. According to Mr. Chowdhry, under both Pakistani and international law, a mentally disabled person cannot be convicted for a crime unless a certified board of doctors decrees that he or she is mentally stable enough to stand trial in a court of law. He said no action in this regard was taken to establish Mr. Kenneth's state of mental health.

Sources have said that Mr. Kenneth had called himself a prophet, that he claimed to receive revelations from God, and that he declined to appeal because he claims he will not die even if thrown into the fire. Observers say that this is indicative of his medical condition.

Bishop Samuel Azariah, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church of Pakistan, quoted by the BBC, says he knew Mr. Kenneth personally and believes he needs medical treatment. Social workers have also stated that Mr. Kenneth had a history of psychiatric problems.

Mr. Kenneth refused to opt for a defence and refused the help of a lawyer for a defence. Therefore, the case was concluded without a defence, and the conviction was made on the basis of Mr. Kenneth's confession. There was no attempt to scrutinise the confession. Mr. Chowdry emphasised the importance of such careful scrutiny of a confession, especially when the maximum possible sentence is under consideration. He said that even the slightest doubt or legal gap should prevent the court from making a judgement, adding that it could be inferred from the speed with which this case was concluded that this did not happen in Mr. Kenneth's case.

In 1992, an additional sessions court in Bahawalpur imposed the death sentence on Arshad Javed after he tried to stop a procession to condemn Salman Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses." Mr. Javed was later acquitted after a higher court looked to medical evidence on the state of his mental health and found him to be insane.

Similarly, Zahid Mahmood Akhtar, accused of blasphemy, was acquitted on the same grounds five years ago. However, he was stoned to death on July 6, 2002 after a panchayat (a group of honourable citizens or decision-makers) in his village, Chak Jhumra, decreed that he should be killed. The government immediately arrested around 30 members of the panchayat.

In the case of Mr. Kenneth, it was the responsibility of the court to have him examined by a medical board to gauge his mental stability before allowing him to face a trial. Why was this investigation not done in Mr. Kenneth's case? Now, he faces a death sentence, and some sources report that threats have been made against his life by other prisoners in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail.

 

SUGGESTED ACTION
Please write to the president of Pakistan and other government officials to call for the repeal of Pakistan's blasphemy law in general and, in particular, for the release and acquittal of Mr. Anwar Kenneth and others who have been sentenced under this law.

 

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear

Re: Death sentence on Mr. Anwar Kenneth under Pakistan's blasphemy law (imposed by additional sessions court in Lahore)

I write to express my extreme concern about the imposition of a death sentence for blasphemy, particularly in a case where there seem to have been legal errors.

In general, Pakistan's blasphemy law is vague and open to much abuse, as demonstrated in various cases such as those where it has been used by persons with personal grudges. It severely limits religious freedom and is discriminatory. Moreover, the use of the death sentence for this offence is extremely harsh. The law has also indirectly legitimised private citizens taking vigilante action to kill alleged blasphemers.

In Mr. Anwar Kenneth's case specifically, there is significant evidence that Mr. Kenneth was mentally unsound, so the court should have inquired into this, but it did not. The court simply accepted a confession without scrutinising it. This is a deeply concerning case of possible legal error.

I urge you to repeal Pakistan's blasphemy law. I also urge you to intervene to ensure that Mr. Anwar Kenneth and others sentenced to death under this law are released and their death sentences quashed.

Thank you for your attention. 


PLEASE SEND A LETTER BY FAX OR E-MAIL TO:

General Pervez Musharraf
Chief Executive of Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Prime Minister House, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email: CE@pak.gov.pk
Fax: +92-51-9201893 or +92-51-9201835 or +92-51-9204632

Salutation: Dear General Musharraf

Mr. Khalid Ranjha
The Federal Minister
Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S-Block, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Email: molaw1@comsats.net.pk
Fax: +92-51-9202628

Office of Attorney General of Pakistan
S-Block, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan
Fax: +92-51-9215852
Res. Fax: +92-51-9220967

 

*** Please send a copy of your letter to AHRC Urgent Appeals:
Email: ua@ahrchk.org
Fax: +(852) - 26986367

Please contact the Urgent Appeals coordinator if you require more

information or wish to report human rights violations. 

===========================================================
AHRC Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
Unit D, 7th Floor, Mongkok Commercial Centre,
16 - 16B Argyle Street, Kowloon, HONGKONG
Tel: +(852) - 2698-6339
Fax: +(852) - 2698-6367
E-mail: ua@ahrchk.org

Please contact the AHRC Urgent Appeals Coordinator if you require
further information or to make requests for further appeals.

===========================================================

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-35-2002
Countries :
Campaigns :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.