Unexpected turn in the blasphemy case against Dr. Younus Shaikh

The case of our rationalist friend and colleague Dr. Younus Shaikh in Pakistan, who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy on 18 August 2001, has taken a new and unexpected turn.

The Islamabad High Court has pronounced the long awaited judgment in the appeal hearing. The judgment is conflicting. The two-member bench could neither find common grounds for acquitting Dr. Shaikh, nor for upholding the Sessions Court's death sentence.

According to Pakistan law, the case has therefore been referred back to the Sessions Court. This means: the trial will be reopened and will start again from the very beginning in the first court. For security reasons, the new hearing will take place in Rawalpindi prison. So far, there is no date given for the reopening.

Rumours recently making the rounds that Dr. Shaikh was free have unfortunately turned out baseless. He is still in solitary confinement in Adiala prison. Nobody except his lawyers and first-degree family members is permitted to visit him there.