Christian couple receives death penalty in Pakistan for insulting Mohammed in text message

A Christian couple has been sentenced to death in Pakistan after being accused of sending a text message to a local Muslim leader insulting the prophet Mohammed, their lawyer and prosecutors say.

The couple has denied the charges and said they would appeal the sentence. Their lawyer Nadeem Hassan told the BBC that he believes the trial was conducted unfairly.

Defense attorney Hassan told the French news agency AFP that Judge Mian Amir Habib handed the death sentence to Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausa, finding them guilty of sending a blasphemous text message to the imam of their local mosque.

The imam filed a complaint against them, accusing the couple of sending him the text which he deemed “insulting to the Prophet Mohammed.

While the Muslim country has the death penalty for insulting the prophet Mohammed, the couple will likely not be executed, but spend years in prison.

“Critics argue that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are frequently misused to settle personal scores and that members of minority groups are also unfairly targeted,” the BBC reported.

The husband and wife are in their forties and have three children.