Today (June 25th) the Pakistan Supreme Court ordered the acquittal of an elderly Christian on death row for 23 years in a blasphemous conviction, declaring that a person with an unhealthy heart cannot be held liable for such crimes, his lawyer said.
Supreme Court lawyer Rana Abdul Hamed said the benches of three Supreme Court judges, which comprised Justice Atar Minarra, Shahzad Ahmed Khan and Irfan Saddat Khan, were acquitted of the allegations of 72-year-old Catholic Anwar Kenneth and blasphemy asp.
“It’s a shame that despite his mental health, older men have been suffering from various prisons for over 20 years,” Muslim Hameed told Christian Daily International’s Morning Star News. “After a long delay, the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit him considering his mental illness will help highlight the light-form of dozens of other blasphemous prisoners who have suffered from mental health challenges as well, but whose cases have been put on hold for years.”
Hameed praised the Supreme Court judges for making the right decision despite pressure from lawyers belonging to various Muslim groups, including the Khatm-e-Nabbuwat (Prophet’s Finality) Lawyers Forum.
“These lawyers and clergymen sparked a disturbance in the court as soon as the judge announced their acquittal,” Hamed said. “Kenneth’s innocence is a big set for them as it affects all blasphemous cases of similar nature.”
He added that the court’s detailed order will be issued in two or three days, paving the way for Kenneth’s release from prison.
Kenneth, a former senior officer in the Punjab Fisheries Department, was sentenced to death in a court of law in Lahore in 2001 after he told Muslim religious scholars, Muslim religious scholars, Muslim diplomats, UN diplomats, UN secretary-general and Christian theologians that he had forced non-Muslims to resign as Muhammad pro-pairs.
He was charged under Section 295-C of Pakistan’s controversial and profanity law. Christians had refused the assistance of defense lawyers, saying that God was his counsel.
The Lahore High Court upheld Kenneth’s death penalty in 2014, but the medical committee formed by the government informed the court that he was mentally unstable. Hameed submitted in his argument before the Supreme Court that rejection of Muhammad’s prophecy by non-Muslims is not considered blasphemy.
“Islam is one of the three faiths of Abraham and I believe that Muslims do not believe in the Prophet Muhammad, including Jesus Christ, Christians and Jews,” he said.
“In his open letter, Kenneth simply stated that his Christian beliefs do not support Islam,” Hamed said. “He does not use any rogical language to the prophet Muhammad, who guarantees a conviction under the blasphemy.”
Kenneth’s appeal against the High Court’s decision continued for years. On March 12, 2024, the Supreme Court directed the Top Body of Islamic Ideology Council (CII), and two Christian organizations, the Council of Churches of Pakistan and the Council of Union Churches of Islamabad.
In January 2023, three Supreme Court benches noted the need for Kenneth’s legal representatives and demanded that the Pakistan Bar Association provide lawyers after five state-provided lawyers rejected the case.
Hameed, who successfully defended several people who were falsely charged with blasphemy, agreed to represent Christians in support of the advocacy group Jubilee Campaign Netherlands.
Kenneth’s family previously told the reporter he was working as deputy director of the Fisheries Department when he was arrested. According to them, Kenneth was an educated man with a deep interest in his Christian faith.
“My brother was a biblical scholar and often engaged in academic discussions with his Muslim friends and religious leaders,” Kenneth’s 83-year-old sister, Reshma Bibi, told the Christian Daily International Morning Star News in March 2024.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in attacks against suspects of blasphemous Asp. ASP accusations or mere rumors could escalate to murder and riots by Muslim mobs. Rights observers recorded a record 344 new cases of blasphemous ASP in Pakistan in 2024, highlighting the rise in abuse of the country’s accused blasphemous ASP law.
According to the annual Human Rights Observer Report published by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), out of 344 new cases of blasphemous Asp, 70% of the accused were Muslims, 6% Christians, 9% Hindus, and 14% Ahmadis.
“The blatant weaponization of blasphemous laws has continued to allow persecution, religious intolerance and widespread human rights violations,” the report states.
Over the past 38 years, at least 2,793 people have been accused of formally or informally blaspheming between 1987 and 2024. The report said at least 104 people were exorbitantly killed following the blasphemous ASP allegations between 1994 and 2024.
With a Muslim population of over 96%, Pakistan ranked 8th on the 2025 World Watchlist, where it is the hardest place to become a Christian.
