Pakistan court sentences five men to death for 'blasphemous content'

A Pakistan court has sentenced five men to death for posting "blasphemous content online", a prosecution lawyer told the media on Wednesday.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in the prosecution of "online blasphemy" cases, with private vigilante groups bringing charges against hundreds of young individuals for allegedly committing blasphemy.

"All five accused were sentenced to death for spreading blasphemous content against the holy Prophet," a lawyer from the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan, a private group which brought the case to court, told the media.

"Separately all were sentenced to life imprisonment for the Holy Quran's desecration and 10 years imprisonment for hurting religious sentiments," lawyer Rao Abdur Raheem said.

The five men -- one Afghan and four Pakistanis -- were sentenced on Tuesday in Rawalpindi, the garrison city that neighbours the capital Islamabad.

The sentences will run concurrently, Raheem said.

Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in the Muslim-majority country, where even unsubstantiated accusations can incite public outrage and lead to lynchings.

The convicts have a right to appeal in the upper courts.

Agence France-Presse