A court in Pakistan has indefinitely postponed an appeal hearing for a Christian couple who have been on death row since 2014 after being convicted of blasphemy.
Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel, imprisoned since 2013, were sentenced to death under Pakistan’s notoriously draconian blasphemy laws for sending allegedly “ blasphemous texts ” to a cleric that insulted the prophet Mohammed.
The text messages were sent via a SIM card registered in Kausar’s name. The couple, however, deny the charges and believe the SIM card was obtained by someone who used a copy of her national ID card.
It has been six years since their appeal was filed, and the couple’s family and lawyers expressed frustration that the hearing had again been postponed indefinitely. Saiful Malook, the couple’s lawyer, accused the Islamabad judge of avoiding the case for fear, as blasphemy cases are highly controversial and often dangerous for those involved.
In July last year, a man on trial for blasphemy was shot in a courtroom in Peshawar, exacerbating the existing climate of fear among judges.
“We don’t even get a date for the next hearing. The judge continues to postpone the case for fear, but now it is enough. It must be heard. I fear for their lives, ”said Malook.
Judges in Pakistan will rarely hear cases of blasphemy until there is political or international pressure. There is no concrete evidence against my clients, and they should have been released a long time ago. “
According to national and international human rights groups, allegations of blasphemy in Pakistan have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.
Kausar and Emmanuel are held in two separate prisons in different districts of Punjab province. Both are in isolated cells, separated from other inmates, as it is feared they could be killed if they mingle with other inmates.
Close relatives of the couple also fear for their lives. Kausar’s brother Joseph, unwilling to share his last name and place of residence, left for Europe shortly after her arrest when he was under threat.
“My brother-in-law is almost physically dead because he is paralyzed and cannot move his lower body, and my sister is mentally dead because she has lived alone for six years and also thinks people could even kill her in prison. She is very disturbed. and her hair falls out, ”said Joseph.
Joseph said the charges were false and the couple did not insult the Prophet.
“The clergyman must have made false accusations,” said Joseph. Unfortunately, the judges have postponed the hearing. It is a failure of the legal system. Judges walk away, they don’t want to hear it, while we, the family members, are left traumatized and don’t feel safe. “
The case is not an isolated one. Asad Jamal, a lawyer representing Abdul Samad, who was convicted of blasphemy in 2013, said he had waited more than seven years for an appeal in court. Jamal described the blasphemy justice system as a “frustrating black hole”.
“Blasphemy cases are being postponed because judges don’t want to hear them and lawyers don’t want to defend the accused,” he said.
While Pakistan has not executed anyone charged under the blasphemy laws, at least 17 of those convicted of blasphemy in the country are on death row, while several others are serving life for similar crimes.
Asia Bibi, a Christian farm worker accused of blasphemy in a dispute with neighbors, has endured a decade-long ordeal in Pakistan’s prisons. Her case sparked a stir against Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and drew international attention to its problematic legislation.
Malook said there were several similarities between the couple’s case and Bibi’s. The same thing happened with Asia Bibi, whose case was delayed by ten years and was only heard because of some pressure from Western governments.
“I think Bibi would have been behind bars until now if there had been no pressure. Imagine the level of fear and justice when judges do not want to hear such matters. This fear must end, ”he said.
Originally sentenced to death in 2010, Bibi’s death sentence was quashed and she was granted asylum in Canada, where she continues to receive death threats. In 2011, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and Minority Minister Shahbaz Bhatti were assassinated after drawing attention to Bibi’s case and campaigning for blasphemy law reform.