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[JURIST] Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif [official website] stated [Twitter post] on Tuesday that blasphemy is an "unpardonable offense" and ordered the state to remove such content from social media. In a Twitter post through the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz [official website; Twitter] account, Sharif directed Interior Minister Ch. Nisar Ali Khanthat [official website] to bring to justice all those who have posted blasphemous comments. Because the issue is before the Pakistan courts, he stated that all steps should be taken in conformance with guidance from the court.
Last year a sharia high court in Nigeria sentenced [JURIST report] cleric Abdulaziz Dauda and nine others to death by hanging for committing blasphemy against the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. In October the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye said that governments are "wielding the tools of censorship" and cautioned [JURIST report] that the "freedom of expression is under the widespread assault." In 2015 a Pakistani man was executed for his part in murdering a politician [JURIST report] who supported a Christian who had been convicted of blasphemy. Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Indonesian Parliament in 2015 to reject proposed amendments to its law on the "eradication of terrorism." HRW asserted that the proposed amendments are too vague [JURIST report] and would limit the exercise of free expression and directly conflict with Indonesia's obligations to international human rights, leading to fundamental rights violations. And in 2010 HRW urged the repeal of all such laws [JURIST report].
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