A Pakistani court Friday sentenced a man to five years jail and hard labour for a blasphemous Facebook post, in what is believed to be one of the first such cases under controversial cybercrime laws.
Sajid Ali was charged with posting blasphemous and derogatory content against revered Islamic figures on the social network in 2017.
Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in conservative Muslim Pakistan, where the laws can carry a potential death sentence for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam. Even unproven allegations have led to mob lynchings and murder.
Prosecutor Munam Bashir Chaudhry told AFP Ali's case is the first to be tried under a section of the cybercrime laws, which were passed in 2016, pertaining to hate speech.
There have been other cases of prosecution against "online blasphemy" in Pakistan, including one in 2017 that saw a man sentenced to death for sharing what the court said was blasphemous content on social media. [International Business Times] Read more
