Man jailed for 13 years over religiously offensive Facebook post
- By AFP -
- Mar 03, 2016
Rizwan Haider, 25, was convicted in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) of three charges including promoting sectarian hatred, after he supposedly published a post referring to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
“This case… was registered against Haider in January for posting objectionable material against the belief of Muslims,” Adeel Chattah, public prosecutor in the case, told AFP.
He was also fined 250,000 rupees ($2,500), Chattah said, adding that he denied the charges and has the right to appeal.
His lawyer dismissed the accusations.
“He only liked it and did not post it on the page,” Shameem Zaidi said.
Pakistan tightened its hate crime laws as part of a campaign to combat extremism after a Taliban attack at a school in Peshawar in December 2014 killed 153 people, mostly children.
Authorities have arrested and sentenced several religious clerics, mostly from hardliners, for hate speech in recent months.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court jailed another man for 13 years in November 2015 after he also posted what it deemed sectarian hate speech on Facebook. Rights activists condemned the ruling as “extremely concerning”.
Pakistan has been gripped by sectarian violence since the 1980s, with thousands killed in clashes triggered by religious tensions.