A Pakistani man has been handed a death sentence over a Facebook post.
Taimoor Raza was on Saturday found guilty of committing blasphemy via the social media outlet, leading to the first conviction on charges over social media.
Judge Shabbir Ahmad Awan handed down the verdict in Bahawalpur, about 600 kilometres south of capital Islamabad, finding Taimoor Raza guilty of insulting the prophet Mohammed, a prosecutor Shafiq Qureshi told AFP.
Raza, a minority Shiite Muslim, had a Facebook argument about Islam with someone who turned out to be a counter-terrorism department official, defence lawyer Rana Fida Hussain told AFP.
He was arrested last year for allegedly posting derogatory content about Sunni Muslim religious leaders and the wives of the Prophet Mohammed on Facebook.
The official brought charges against Raza based on the comments made on the social networking site.
The charges followed a complaint he was showing onlookers “objectionable material” on his mobile phone at a bus station, AP reported.
Mr Hussain said his client was innocent and that he would appeal the conviction.
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