Blasphemy case: Prosecution asked to defend electronic evidence used for conviction

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court bench recently requested the prosecution to justify the use of electronic evidence in a blasphemy case that led to the death sentence of Taimoor Raza. The trial court in Bahawalpur, where Raza was tried, had relied heavily on digital evidence, including Facebook pages, to make its decision. The High Court's division bench, comprising Justices Sadiq Mahmud Khurram and Muhammad Jawad Zafar, was hearing an appeal filed by Raza through his lawyer, Asad Jamal.

Raza was initially facing a blasphemy charge under section 298A of the Pakistani Penal Code and a higher charge under section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, both of which carry the death penalty. However, an anti-terrorism court had already sentenced him to death in 2017 for the latter offense. The appeal argued that the trial court did not consider any evidence supporting the charge under section 295-C, which deals with derogatory remarks against the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The prosecution was asked to address questions about apparent contradictions in the evidence, particularly the alleged contradiction involving the Facebook pages presented before the trial court.