Christian Pakistani Woman Sentenced to Death for Allegedly Blaspheming Muhammed

Catholic News Agency

A Christian mother of four has been sentenced to death by a trial judge at the Special Court in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, for allegedly spreading blasphemous messages via the messaging service WhatsApp. She must also pay a fine of 300,000 Pakistani rupees (about $1,000).

Shagufta Kiran, a 40-year-old former nurse, was sentenced on Sept. 18. She had been arrested in 2021 along with her husband and son — who were later released — for alleged blasphemous messages posted in 2020. Her lawyer, according to the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), has promised to appeal the sentence.

“Kiran was not the author of this content and simply forwarded it to a chat without reading it,” her defense said, as reported by the Vatican agency Fides.

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