Pakistan's Supreme Court upholds Christian Qaisar Ayub's death sentence for blasphemy, acquits his brother Amoon

Pakistan's Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and death sentence of Christian man Qaisar Ayub on blasphemy charges, while acquitting his brother Amoon Ayub in the same case. In the October 7 verdict, Amoon was spared the death penalty after some 10 years in prison, while Qaisar's sentence was upheld.

CeCe Heil, Senior Counsel and International Legal Director for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), said the case against the Ayub brothers began in 2014. Qaisar was arrested after a WordPress site displayed the brothers' contact information and shared content that insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Amoon was arrested the following year.

Heil says that in the 12 years of legal wrangling that followed, the Pakistani legal system has never presented evidence proving that either brother was truly affiliated with the offending WordPress blog site. The ACLJ, through its Pakistani counterpart, the Organization for Legal Aid (OLA), began representing Amoon shortly after his arrest in 2015.

Both brothers were sentenced to death in 2018. They unsuccessfully sought appeal in the Lahore High Court in 2022. After a continuation at the Supreme Court in 2025, Qaisar asked the OLA to represent him.

Following years of arguments and 13 postponed hearings, the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on October 7. Amoon was acquitted, but Qaisar's conviction and death sentence were upheld. The decision was greeted with shock and anger among supporters.

Heil said a threatening atmosphere now attends many blasphemy hearings, where mobs commonly show up in courtrooms. She cited one video in which people filmed themselves saying that if the judge does not enforce death by hanging, they will kill him with their own hands.

She said the precedent set by the Supreme Court's decision could impact every single person now sitting in prison on blasphemy charges, which includes at least three OLA clients.

Other Christian men facing death include Shahzad Masih, who was 16 years old when he was accused of blasphemy in 2017. He was sentenced to death five years later. His appeals have repeatedly been postponed in the years since 2022.

Intizar Masih is pending trial over a blasphemous post he is said to have shared on WhatsApp in 2023. Ahsan Masih was accused of posting blasphemous content to TikTok in 2023 and was sentenced to death the following year; his appeal hearings have also been postponed.

The OLA plans to file a review petition with the Supreme Court as early as this week, addressing the lack of evidence convicting Qaisar. They also plan to reach out directly to the Government of Pakistan to request support, including a presidential pardon for Qaisar.

The Open Doors 2026 World Watch List placed Pakistan in its top ten list of countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the United States is concerned about religious freedom in Pakistan and throughout the world and regularly discusses this concern with Pakistan, as it would with any country.

United Nations officials, in a September 2025 letter to the Government of Pakistan, expressed grave concern about the cases of the Ayub brothers and Shahzad Masih. The Government of Pakistan responded earlier this year that under Pakistan's Constitution such matters fall within the judicial domain and the Executive is constitutionally prohibited from intervening in individual cases. The Pakistani Embassy in Washington did not respond to questions about the possibility of a presidential pardon. Heil said that while Amoon has been spared the death penalty, their work is ongoing to keep him safe from reprisals.