This archive report was first published on 26 September 2019.
On Wednesday, Pakistan's highest court handed down a decision that has brought relief to a Muslim man who spent 17 years on death row for blasphemy. Wajih-ul-Hassan is expected to be released in the coming days, according to his lawyer, Nadeem Anthony.
"Everyone was crying with happiness," Hassan told AFP, describing the long journey to this moment.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of insulting Islam can lead to assassinations and lynchings. The country's blasphemy laws have been criticized for being overly broad, vague, and coercive.
According to a 2018 estimate by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, about 40 people convicted of blasphemy are currently on death row in Pakistan. Amnesty International has demanded the release of another blasphemy accused, university professor Junaid Hafeez, who has spent more than five years in solitary confinement.
There have been severe delays in Hafeez's trial, with eight judges succeeding each other in the case without deciding his fate. In May 2014, three gunmen murdered Hafeez's lawyer.
Asia Bibi, a Christian who had spent more than eight years on death row for blasphemy, was acquitted last October. Her acquittal provoked violent protests across Pakistan, but she now lives in Canada with her family.
Most blasphemy cases in Pakistan involve Muslims, experts say.
