‘Hate Speech’ laws and the murder of justice

Anyone keen on hate speech laws, needs to spend a year in Pakistan living under their Islamic blasphemy laws.

It’s heart-breaking stuff. I’ve been writing about its victims for a few years now, and it hits me hard every time.

Two Christian teens are set to be hanged over cartoons sent to their mobile phones by a Muslim, who authorities let off.

Their lawyer, has rightly called their sentencing, ‘the murder of justice.’

Nouman Asghar, and Sunny Mushtaq, are from the Punjab province, and have been in prison since 2019.

Their alleged crime was ‘blaspheming the prophet Muhammad’ after allegedly receiving cartoon drawings of the warlord on their mobile phones through WhatsApp.

Notably, authorities didn’t take any action against the Muslim, who allegedly sent the so-called ‘blasphemous’ images.

In June 2023, Asghar, now 25, was sentenced to death by hanging.

Mushtaq awaits the same grim sentencing.

He’s also been accused of printing the cartoons, and distributing them.

International Christian Concern, quoting from Agenzia Fides, said the men were arrested for ‘violating article 295-c of the Penal Code, which punishes contempt for the Prophet Muhammad’.

Lawyer, Aneeqa Maria Anthony, said the ‘magistrate ignored all the procedures and dismissed all the evidence’.

‘He only wanted to complete his “sacred duty” to punish an alleged blasphemer.’

Legal defence team member Lazar Allah Rakha, told Catholic Herald:

‘There was no proof against Nouman, and none of the witnesses produced by police could corroborate the blasphemy allegation.

‘This is murder of justice.’

Speaking about the weaponisation of blasphemy legislation, Jeff King, ICC’s president remarked, these kinds of laws are ‘often used to settle personal scores or persecute minorities’.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), explained that it’s aware of at least ‘80 individuals in Pakistan who remain imprisoned on blasphemy charges’.

The majority face the death penalty.

According to USCIRF,

‘Under sections 295 and 298 of Pakistan’s Penal Code, individuals are prohibited from verbal and nonverbal actions deemed insulting to religious belief and practice.’

All that’s required to enact these laws is an accusation.

Legal justification for arrest is ambiguous.

Listing them, USCIRF said, reasons include:

Inflicting physical damage on the Qur’an or other Islamic religious text, even if unintentional.

Sending and receiving text messages, sometimes unsolicited, which are later deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad or the Islamic faith.

Making comments in personal conversations that witnesses attest to be blasphemous in nature.

The Islamist version of ‘hate speech laws’ even come with their own eSafety overwatch.

Criticism is banned, and social media use regulated.

Reasons for incarceration also includes:

‘Translating and uploading content to personal blogs and non-Muslim websites, or writing Facebook posts deemed to be insulting to the Islamic faith.’

These anti-free speech laws are a licence to murder justice.

They serve a subjectivist dystopia.

As I’ve shown, the lessons are clear: ‘hate speech’ laws are easily weaponised, and just as easily abused.

https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/06/hate-speech-laws-and-the-murder-of-justice/

***********************************

My other blogs. Main ones below:

http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

https://immigwatch.blogspot.com/ (IMMIGRATION WATCH)

https://awesternheart.blogspot.com/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs

*******************************