LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) A court in Rawalpindi, Pakistan upheld the life sentence of a Christian convicted of sending blasphemous text messages in spite of the prosecution’s manipulated evidence and failure to establish his involvement, his lawyer said.
Zafar Bhatti, 56, had been handed the life sentence, which in Pakistan is 25 years, on May 3, 2017, under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws for allegedly sending text messages derogatory to Islam’s prophet. The Christian continues to deny the charge.
On Tuesday (June 22), an additional sessions judge in Rawalpindi District upheld Bhatti’s conviction even though new evidence presented by the prosecution again failed to directly link Bhatti with the alleged offense, according to his attorney.