Junaid Hafeez
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Junaid Hafeez | |
|---|---|
جنید حفیظ | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | |
| Employer | Bahauddin Zakariya University |
| Criminal charges | Blasphemy |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
Junaid Hafeez (Urdu: جنید حفیظ) is a former M. Phil English student at a Pakistani university where he was teaching as visiting teacher as well. He was convicted of blasphemy under Pakistan's broad blasphemy laws and sentenced to death. Arrested in 2013, Hafeez was accused of making derogatory comments about the prophet of Islam, Muhammad on social media. Held in solitary confinement since 2014, his trial was repeatedly delayed, and Hafeez's first lawyer, Rashid Rehman, was murdered. In December 2019, Hafeez was convicted and sentenced to death by a Pakistani court. His detention and arrest have been condemned by human rights groups.
Hafeez was born in Rajanpur, Punjab and attended King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Punjab, after being given a gold medal in pre-medical studies at the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education in the Dera Ghazi Khan Division.[1] In 2006 he left his medical studies to focus on English literature at Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) in Multan, Punjab.[1] In 2009, as a Fulbright Scholar, he traveled to Jackson, Mississippi to continue his studies at Jackson State University,[1] where he earned a master's degree in American literature, photography and theater.[2] He returned to BZU Multan in 2011 as a graduate student and a visiting lecturer for the English Department while also teaching at the College of Design.[3][1] Hafeez taught English literature,[4] and as his thesis, Hafeez was writing an "ethnographic study of masculinity in popular cinema in Multan."[1]
Soon after his arrival, Hafeez was targeted by the Islamist groups Islami Jamiat Talaba (the student group affiliate of the Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami) and Tehrik-Tahafaz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat, who opposed Hafeez's more liberal teachings.[1] They distributed pamphlets calling for Hafeez to be arrested and hanged, and staged a strike.[3][1] Hafeez was quickly expelled and his housing and teaching contracts were revoked.[1]