The International Human Rights Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law is presenting a timely CLE brownbag teleconference on the topic of “Religious Freedom and Religious Persecution.”
Join prominent Human Rights Lawyer and President of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association, Ms. Asma Jahangir and a panel of other distinguished speakers as they address current controversies around the globe. Ms. Jahangir will be joined by Elizabeth Cassidy of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and Mr. David Matas an international human rights lawyer.
Pakistan’s “blasphemy laws” have been the subject of much recent controversy and are also blamed for two high profile assassinations. Earlier this year, Salman Taseer, the powerful governor of Pakistan’s most populous state of Punjab was gunned down by his own bodyguard for his pursuit of amendments to the laws. Recently a Christian, Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s minister for minority affairs was gunned down by religious extremists, allegedly for his views on the blasphemy laws.
It is not clear how far Pakistani politicians are willing to go in order to prevent misuse of the blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty for those convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammad. Some argue that it would be enough to ensure that the cases of those accused of blasphemy be heard by higher courts better qualified to interpret the laws fairly and less likely to be swayed by the mob pressure which can be used to get convictions in lower courts.
Others argue that the actual wording of the laws needs to be amended if they are to be fairly applied. The original blasphemy law, introduced in British India in 1860, imposed a prison term of up to two years for any damage to a place of worship or sacred object carried out “with the intention of thereby insulting the religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as an insult to their religion…”
The current provision in the Pakistan Penal Code, as amended in 1986, both introduces the death penalty for insulting the Prophet, and drops the concept of intent. According to Section 295-C of the Penal Code, “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.”
This omission of the need to prove malicious intent has opened the door to some of the more absurd accusations of blasphemy, many of which are made against Muslims — like a student accused of blaspheming in an answer on an exam paper, or a doctor who threw out a business card from a salesman named Mohammed. It is unclear whether the misuse of the laws can be stopped without the reinsertion of the notion of intent in some form. Whether Pakistan and other parts of the world will be able to achieve a resolution to the situation remains to be seen.
Join our teleconference for a discussion of the blasphemy laws and other topics such as the treatment of Falun Gong in China, the Koran burning in the USA and other incidents that are worthy of the attention of the international human rights committee.
Please click on the link above for event details.
Join prominent Human Rights Lawyer and President of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association, Ms. Asma Jahangir and a panel of other distinguished speakers as they address current controversies around the globe. Ms. Jahangir will be joined by Elizabeth Cassidy of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and Mr. David Matas an international human rights lawyer.
Pakistan’s “blasphemy laws” have been the subject of much recent controversy and are also blamed for two high profile assassinations. Earlier this year, Salman Taseer, the powerful governor of Pakistan’s most populous state of Punjab was gunned down by his own bodyguard for his pursuit of amendments to the laws. Recently a Christian, Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s minister for minority affairs was gunned down by religious extremists, allegedly for his views on the blasphemy laws.
It is not clear how far Pakistani politicians are willing to go in order to prevent misuse of the blasphemy laws, which carry the death penalty for those convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammad. Some argue that it would be enough to ensure that the cases of those accused of blasphemy be heard by higher courts better qualified to interpret the laws fairly and less likely to be swayed by the mob pressure which can be used to get convictions in lower courts.
Others argue that the actual wording of the laws needs to be amended if they are to be fairly applied. The original blasphemy law, introduced in British India in 1860, imposed a prison term of up to two years for any damage to a place of worship or sacred object carried out “with the intention of thereby insulting the religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as an insult to their religion…”
The current provision in the Pakistan Penal Code, as amended in 1986, both introduces the death penalty for insulting the Prophet, and drops the concept of intent. According to Section 295-C of the Penal Code, “Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.”
This omission of the need to prove malicious intent has opened the door to some of the more absurd accusations of blasphemy, many of which are made against Muslims — like a student accused of blaspheming in an answer on an exam paper, or a doctor who threw out a business card from a salesman named Mohammed. It is unclear whether the misuse of the laws can be stopped without the reinsertion of the notion of intent in some form. Whether Pakistan and other parts of the world will be able to achieve a resolution to the situation remains to be seen.
Join our teleconference for a discussion of the blasphemy laws and other topics such as the treatment of Falun Gong in China, the Koran burning in the USA and other incidents that are worthy of the attention of the international human rights committee.
Please click on the link above for event details.
