Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Pakistani Scholar Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy

Ayesha Tanzeem

   ISLAMABAD - A court in Pakistan Saturday sentenced a 33-year-old
   scholar, accused of blasphemy, to death after a trial that lasted six
   years and was mired by delays due to multiple changes in judges and the
   murder of a defense lawyer.
   Junaid Hafeez was charged with insulting the religious beliefs of
   Muslims of Pakistan, claiming the Quran was derived from Mesopotamian
   folk tales, and keeping material in his computer that included
   derogatory remarks about the prophet of Islam.
   The initial police report also accused him of running two Facebook
   groups that posted blasphemous content.
   His family and lawyers claimed the charges against him are fabricated
   and a result of politics at the university where he was teaching as a
   visiting lecturer.
   Hafeez's father told German news outlet Deutsche Welle that his son was
   disliked by a conservative Islamist student organization at Bahauddin
   Zakariya University in Multan, one of the biggest cities in the
   southern Punjab region, because of his liberal views.

.