Six People Sentenced to Death after murdering the Sri Lankan Managers accused of blasphemy.

20/04/2022

Nicola Costantin

Pakistan and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

Al Jazeera has reported that a Court in Pakistan has sentenced six people to death, and another dozen to jail, after convicting them for their roles in the murder of the Sri Lankan factory manager committed one year ago (Al Jazeera, 2022). 

The man, Pryantha Kumara, was accused by the workers of committing blasphemy. At the time, the police said that the manager tore down a poster with Islamic holy verses (Al Jazeera, 2021). Several videos also exposed a mob beating the victim, and burning him alive while chanting slogans against blasphemy. Some of the protesters even took selfies with the victim. (Al Jazeera, 2022). 

Human rights groups sadly stated that even the slightest suggestion of an insult to the main religion – Islam – can boost protests and personal vendettas, with minorities being largely the target. For instance, in 2014, A Christian couple was lynched, and then burned, after being falsely accused of desecrating the Quran in Punjab (Al Jazeera, 2021).

Just in 2021, the Centre for Social Justice, an independent human rights group in Pakistan, said that, at least, 84 people were accused of committing blasphemy last year. While according to AL Jazeera, 82 people have been murdered over alleged blasphemy since 1990 (Al Jazeera, 2022).

Sources: 

Al Jazeera. (2022a, April 19). Pakistan: Six sentenced to death for lynching Sri Lankan national. News | Al Jazeera. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/18/pakistan-six-sentenced-to-death-for-lynching-sri-lankan-national

Al Jazeera. (2021, December 3). Sri Lankan factory manager lynched and set on fire in Pakistan. Crime News | Al Jazeera. Retrieved April 20, 2022, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/3/sri-lankan-factory-manager-lynched-and-set-on-fire-in-pakistan