Though in the form of fines and maligning the ‘offender’s’ name, this is what the Finnish state is doing to those who insult Islam. They couch their words in “defamation of a ethnic group”, but in reality, it’s a blasphemy law, the only difference being the punishment meted out.
Iranian man sentenced to death for ‘insulting Islam’ through messaging app
Human rights groups fighting to save Sina Dehghan from hanging for messages he sent as a teenager
A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to death by Iranian authorities for “insulting Islam” through messages he sent on an instant messenger app.
Human rights lawyers claim that Sina Dehghan, who was just 19 when he sent the messages, was tricked into signing his own death warrant after being persuaded to confess to the breach of Islamic law with the promise of release if he did so.
But after obtaining a confession, prosecutors dropped the agreement and sentenced Dehghan to death in January this year, according to the Centre for Human Rights in Iran.
The content of the messages, said to have been sent using the Line app, is unknown.
A source told CHRI: “During his interrogation, Sina was told that if he signed a confession and repented, he would be pardoned and let go.
