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Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Masih, a Pakistani Christian couple, were sentenced to death on April 4th<\/sup>, 2014 under Article 295-C of the Pakistani Penal Code.<\/p>\n The married couple was convicted on the grounds that they had sent blasphemous SMS messages in English insulting the Prophet Muhammad to a local imam from a phone number registered under the name of Shagufta Kausar. However, it was established that the couple was illiterate and did not speak English.<\/p>\n The appeal hearing before the Lahore High Court (LHC) was scheduled for Wednesday 3 June but was finally postponed to June 22nd<\/sup>\u00a0due to the downturn in the proceedings caused by the coronavirus. The couple has spent the last six years in prison awaiting this appeal.\u00a0Allegations of torture against Shafqat Masih by police officers in prison in order to extract confessions have been reported.<\/a><\/p>\n Lawyer Saif ul-Malook, who successfully pleaded Asia Bibi\u2019s case before the Supreme Court, will represent the couple before the LHC. He said in an interview to the BBC that the evidence used to convict the couple was deeply flawed. According to him, the file against Shagufta Kausar and her husband is even weaker than that against Asia Bibi.<\/p>\n Sa\u00eff ul-Malook has been involved in a number of emblematic defence cases in Pakistan, including the Asia Bibi case. This young Pakistani Christian woman had been sentenced to death for committing blasphemy.<\/p>\n While no lawyer wanted to get close to the Asia Bibi case, lawyer Sa\u00eff ul-Malook decided to defend her before the Pakistani courts. He saved her, in 2019, from being hanged for blasphemy. Asia Bibi, who had been in preventive detention for almost 10 years, was finally allowed to leave Pakistan and arrived in Canada on May 8th<\/sup>, 2019.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Threats against lawyer Sa\u00eff ul-Malook<\/strong><\/p>\n When he obtained Asia Bibi\u2019s acquittal, protests took place across the country. He became the target of threats from religious extremists. He went into exile in the Netherlands in November 2018 after violent protests against the Pakistani Supreme Court\u2019s decision to overturn Asia Bibi\u2019s death sentence.<\/p>\n Notwithstanding the granting of refugee status by the Dutch authorities, Sa\u00eff ul-Malook returned to Islamabad on January 26th<\/sup>, 2019 to defend Asia Bibi as she faced a final appeal against the Supreme Court\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Despite the numerous death threats against him and his family, Sa\u00eff ul-Malook has shown immense perseverance and unquestionable courage in defending the persons, whom no one wants to defend.<\/p>\n