A district court in Multan on Saturday sentenced academic Junaid Hafeez to death for committing blasphemy on social media, local media reported.

In 2013, Junaid Hafeez, a 26 year-old Fulbright scholar and lecturer at a university in Multan, was arrested on allegations of blasphemy. The charges against him included “liking” an allegedly blasphemous Facebook page.

Hafeez's lawyer had earlier made an application to the Lahore High Court (LHC) requesting that the trial be moved to Lahore given the hostile environment in Multan and the threats to the lives of Hafeez and his counsel. 

In September 2014, the LHC had refused the application, stating there is “no material in support of the apprehension expressed on behalf of the petitioner” and that they should approach the police in Multan for protection.

Earlier this month, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had also placed Hafeez on its global victims’ database highlighting extreme trauma and death threats to his life in jail.