11 July 2024 :
The Anti-Terrorism Court in Sahiwal has sentenced the young Christian Ehsan Shan to death for allegedly sharing a blasphemous post on social media, considered the cause of the violence in Jaranwala on August 16, 2023.
The verdict, published on July 1, 2024 provides that the convict must first serve a total of 22 years in prison and pay a fine of one million rupees.
Ehsan Shan was accused of sharing blasphemous content on the social media site TikTok, which was blamed for the violence in Jaranwala in August 2023.
Following accusations of desecrating the Koran, a mob of militants destroyed and set fire to dozens of Christian homes and about 26 churches in the Christian quarter of the Punjab city. Based on intelligence reports, police arrested several people accused of blasphemy three days after the riots.
According to the police, the young man did not write the blasphemous content himself, but shared it, making it go viral on the Internet.
According to representatives of the local Christian community, the young man is "just a scapegoat" while those who attacked and burned churches and Christian homes go unpunished.
Last February, Pakistan's Supreme Court had rejected the prosecution's report on the Jaranwala mass violence, calling it "extremely flawed" as it lacked relevant information and details about the arrests. In a hearing before the Supreme Court, a judicial officer from Punjab province said that after 304 arrests, only 22 complaints had been registered and only 18 charges had been formally filed. Therefore, the court ordered that a new report be prepared. "Now a grave injustice has been done. The verdict against Ehsan Shan symbolizes the virtual death of all Christians in Pakistan today. Only one culprit is identified for the violence and destruction that took place in Jaranwala and that is a Christian," laments the non-governmental organization Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).
The case has reignited the debate on the blasphemy law and its impact, and has drawn renewed attention to the urgent need for legal reform. The law is often misused when it comes to personal disputes. There are numerous cases of Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Ahmadi being wrongly accused and imprisoned, while simple accusations can lead to mass violence and arbitrary executions.
