European Member of Parliament Marco Pannella (Italian...

European Member of Parliament Marco Pannella (Italian Radical Party) filed a parliamentary question addressed to the European Commission regarding Mohammad Younus Shaik's case. Shaik, a doctor, was sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy on August 19. He was condemned for saying that the Prophet Muhammad and his family could not have been Muslims before he had a vision and similar opinions considered offensive by Muslim clerics.
"The trial was carried out amidst the shouting of a crowd provoked by the clerics, while witnesses who had previously declared they had not been present when Shaik pronounced his opinions took the stand anyway. Moreover the court only allowed him a week to file an appeal instead of the usual thirty days," Pannella said.
Pakistan has not yet executed anyone for blasphemy, but hundreds of people accused of similar crimes languish in Pakistani jails.
"Has the Commission, through a representative, followed Shaik's trial?" Pannella's PQ asked. "Has the Commission reacted officially to his death sentence? In general, what steps has the Commission taken or intends to take with regard to the increasing number of guilty verdicts for blasphemy and the breaches of fundamental human rights in Pakistan?"