Gender: Male

Current Location: Central Jail, Multan, Punjab

Perpetrator: Pakistan

Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other

Reports of Torture: No

Reports of Medical Neglect: No

Sentence: Death + Life Imprisonment + 10 Years' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: May/13/2013

Date of Sentencing: December/21/2019

Current Status: Not Released

Religious Leader: No

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Blasphemy (Religious Texts)

Nature of Charges: Hate Speech

Junaid Hafeez

Extra Bio Info:

Junaid Hafeez is imprisoned and sentenced to death for blasphemy. 

On March 13, 2013, authorities arrested Hafeez, a lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University, after his students accused him of insulting the Prophet Muhammad on social media.

Hafeez has been held in solitary confinement since 2014 after being repeatedly attacked by other prisoners.  In May 2014, Hafeez's original lawyer, Rashid Rehman, was gunned down and killed in his office.

It is reported that since 2018, Hafeez's health has deteriorated. 

On December 21, 2019, A district and sessions court in Multan sentenced Hafeez to death for "insulting the Prophet Muhammad" (Sec. 295-C PPC). He was also sentenced to life in prison for "desecrating the Qur'an" (Sec. 295-B PPC) and 10 years in prison for "intending to outrage religious feelings" (Sec. 295-A PPC). Hafeez was also heavily fined. 

On December 27, 2019, several UN experts condemned Hafeez's sentence. 

Prior to his arrest, Hafeez received a Master's degree in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship.  He specialized in American literature, photography, and theatre.

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