Sentenced to Death for Sharing Her Faith
Forty-year-old Shagufta Kiran was accused of sharing blasphemous content on a WhatsApp group in September 2020 by a Muslim man who was also part of the group. In September this year, the court in Islamabad handed down a death penalty. The family plans to appeal the sentence to secure her release.
In September 2020, a Muslim man named Shiraz Ahmad Farooqi accused Shagufta Kiran of sharing blasphemous content in a WhatsApp group. On 21 July, 202, a case was registered against her at the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre in Islamabad for offenses under Section 11 of PECA (of Electronic crimes Act), 2016, along with sections 295-A and 295-C, under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.
The following week, on 29 July, she, along with two of her four children (then aged 10 & 12) and her husband, were arrested. After a brief period of detention, her husband and children were released but Kiran remained in custody facing trial. She was found guilty and sentenced by judge Afzal Majoka on 18 September, 2024.
The court convicted Kiran under section 295-C of the blasphemy law which carries the death penalty with a fine of Rs.300000 ($1081). Also, under Section 11 of PECA, which carries a sentence of 7 years in prison along with a fine of Rs.100,000 ($360).
According to her lawyer, the family plans to appeal against the verdict in the High Court. She is in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, where she is in solitary confinement. There is a fear that she also potentially faces serious threats to her life as there have been incidents in the past where victims charged under blasphemy laws were subjected to extra judicial killings.
According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, advocacy groups say that more than 2100 people have been accused of blasphemy in Pakistan since 1987.
Prayer points:
- Pray for Shagufta Kiran, who is in jail after being recently been sentenced to death for blasphemy.
- Pray for her safety in jail. Lord we ask that she can stay firm in her faith in Jesus, that her faith brings her comfort and strength.
- Pray that lawyers can successfully challenge the sentence and secure her release.
- Pray for her husband and children who are in hiding: for their safety and also comfort as they have been separated from her for so long.
