Pakistan’s Supreme Court has acquitted Anwar Kenneth, a 72-year-old Christian who spent 24 years on death row for blasphemy, in a ruling welcomed by human rights advocates as a rare victory for justice.
Kenneth, a former government employee with documented mental illness, was arrested in 2001 for allegedly writing letters deemed blasphemous toward the Prophet Muhammad and the Quran. Convicted under Section 295-C of the Penal Code, he was sentenced to death and fined five million rupees in 2002.
The acquittal, issued on June 25 by a three-judge bench, found that individuals with mental disorders cannot be held criminally responsible for blasphemy-related offenses, according to a report by AsiaNews.
“Justice has finally been served for Anwar Kenneth, a poor Christian who has endured almost a lifetime of unimaginable suffering behind bars,” said Joseph Janssen of Jubilee Campaign Netherlands, which supported his legal appeal. “It is a beacon of hope for all those who are unjustly imprisoned for their faith.”
Kenneth’s conviction was upheld by the Lahore High Court in 2014 despite signs of mental instability and a forced confession. His final appeal, filed earlier this year by lawyer Rana Abdul Hameed with support from Jubilee Campaign, led to the Supreme Court’s reversal.
“This case exposes the systematic abuse enabled by vague and overly broad legislation,” said Hameed. “That it has taken 24 years to correct such a grave miscarriage of justice reflects deep-seated flaws in Pakistan’s legal framework.”
Jubilee Campaign called for urgent reform, saying Pakistan’s blasphemy laws “violate due process, lack legal protections, and are routinely used as a weapon against minorities and individuals with mental illness.”
Kenneth’s acquittal follows years of international advocacy, including repeated interventions by UN Special Rapporteurs, who criticized Pakistan’s blasphemy laws as incompatible with international legal standards. They urged Islamabad to repeal or amend Section 295 of the Penal Code.
In March, European lawmaker Charlie Weimers raised Kenneth’s case at a UN Human Rights Council event, calling the blasphemy laws “weapons of terror against religious minorities.” The European Union has also warned that continued abuse of these laws could jeopardize Pakistan’s trade privileges under the GSP+ scheme.
