After being charged with sharing blasphemous material in a WhatsApp group, a Muslim man was found guilty and given the death penalty by an anti-terrorism court in northwest Pakistan.

On Friday, March 24, a court in Peshawar found Syed Muhammad Zeeshan guilty of violating both the Anti-Terrorist Act and the Prevention of Internet Crimes Act.

“Accused Syed Muhammad Zeeshan, son of Syed Zakaullah in custody has been convicted and sentenced after being found guilty”, the court order said, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

Zeeshan, who is a resident of the northwest city of Mardan, was also fined 1.2 million rupees ($4,300) and handed a total of 23 years imprisonment. He has the right to appeal.

The case arose after Muhammad Saeed, a resident of Talagang in Punjab province filed an application with the Federal Investigation Agency two years ago accusing Zeeshan of posting blasphemous content in a WhatsApp group, Saeed’s counsel Ibrar Hussain told AFP.

The “FIA had confiscated Zeeshan’s cell phone and its forensic examination proved him guilty”, he said.

Although blasphemy is prohibited under Pakistani law, the death penalty has never been used to punish the offence.

Rights advocates have cautioned that religious minorities, notably Christians, are sometimes caught in the crossfire and that blasphemy accusations are frequently used to settle personal scores even though many cases involve Muslims charging other Muslims.

In the past 20 years, blasphemy charges have been brought against 774 Muslims and 760 members of various minority religious groups in Pakistan, according to the National Commission of Justice and Peace, a human rights and legal help organization.