Pakistani Lawyer Apparently Seeks Death Penalty For Facebook Founders Because Of User Contest

from the overreact-much dept

You may recall that last month, a Pakistani court ordered that the entire site of Facebook be blocked from the country because a German woman using the site had created an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" page, in response to the recent "threats" against South Park's writers, concerning a recent episode of that show. We thought that was a bit extreme, though we got a surprising number of comments from people in Pakistan who strongly agreed with the ruling, and were rather quick with an insult for anyone who disagreed.

If you thought that was an overreaction, well, then you'll love the latest. Apparently a lawyer is petitioning the court for charges to be brought against three of Facebook's founders, Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. Neither Dustin nor Chris have worked at the company in quite some time. Apparently, the charges could lead to a death penalty request. According to the law:

"Use of derogatory remark etc, in respect of the Holy Prophet, whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable for fine."

I do like how after you are dead, you are then also liable for a fine. Pakistani law enforcement is apparently investigating the "crime," but no charges have yet been filed. However, the lawyer is confident that Zuckerberg and his two former partners will soon be arrested and shipped to Pakistan. I would have to imagine that's not actually going to happen any time soon.

Filed Under: blocks, chris hughes, death penalty, dustin moskovitz, mark zuckerberg, pakistan
Companies: facebook