Christian man Nadeem James has been sentenced to death in the eastern Punjab province of Pakistan after he was found guilty of insulting Islam’s Prophet.
Fox News quoted the defense lawyer Riaz Anjum as saying that the judge announced the verdict on Saturday a day earlier in the city of Gujrat.
Anjum said the 35-year-old James, was arrested last year after he sent a poem to his Muslim friend on WhatsApp.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone accused of insulting Islam can be sentenced to death.
Domestic and international human rights groups say these laws are often misused to settle personal scores and target minorities.
In 2015, Muslims beat to death a Christian couple and burned their bodies in a brick kiln for allegedly desecrating the Quran.