Sri Lankan national, Don Priyantha Kumara, was lynched to death by a mob in Sialkot on charges of blasphemy in December 2021. Kumara worked as a general manager at a local garments factory.
A special anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan on Monday convicted 88 accused in Priyantha Kumara case.
The court handed down the death sentence on two counts to six accused besides ordering them to pay compensation of Rs 200,000 each to the legal heirs of the deceased under Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
The court also handed down life imprisonment to nine of the accused along with a fine of Rs 200,000 each and Rs 200,000 compensation to the legal heirs.
The court awarded two years of imprisonment on three counts and one-year imprisonment on two counts to 72 others accused in the case.
Sri Lankan national, Don Priyantha Kumara, was lynched to death by a mob in Sialkot on charges of blasphemy in December 2021. Kumara worked as a general manager at a local garments factory. A video recording of the lynching was put up on social media and the impunity caused outrage across the world. Pakistan’s civil society took to the streets and the incident rekindled the debate on the country’s blasphemy laws.
Under pressure, the Sialkot police had arrested 89 people, including 9 juveniles and the Pakistan government announced setting up of a special anti-terrorism court to try the case expeditiously.
The trial proceedings were conducted at the Kot Lakhpat Jail. The prosecution completed the evidence within a month and the court had indicted the accused on March 12.
Image: Hippopx – licensed to use under Creative Commons Zero – CC0
