Lynching verdict

On December 3, 2021 Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan national, was lynched to death by a mob in Sialkot, apparently on an allegation of blasphemy. While there was outrage across Pakistan, the case exposed the brutality that has become part of a country where violence is the answer to everything, as both state and government cede space to violent mobs. Now some sense of justice has prevailed, with an anti-terrorism court (ATC) issuing a verdict. The court has awarded the death sentence to six men and life imprisonment to nine. One culprit has received a five-year jail term whereas 72 persons will spend two years each in prison for their involvement in the lynching of the Sri Lankan factory manager in Sialkot. While the verdict is welcome, in that it has seen a conclusion in a judicial system where often such cases drag on for want of prosecutorial competence, it would be prudent to add that capital punishment is not an ideal deterrence for preventing such crimes. However, in our justice system the thinking– debatable though it may be -- is that perhaps only the severest punishment can send a clear signal to potential perpetrators of such crimes.

Normally in such cases, the prosecution process lacks sound footing, resulting in loopholes in the case. In many cases, witnesses disappear or refuse to testify for fear of reprisals. This case however proves that if the state machinery wants, it can produce 43 witnesses who can testify with confidence and without fear. It is this fear that has kept many from speaking up for justice – fear of violent mobs, fear of influential culprits, fear even of state machinery that turns a blind eye to collusion within the system. It is telling that in a crowd of dozens that lynched Priyantha -- and of hundreds who watched his gruesome murder -- there was just one colleague of the victim who tried to save his life.

For the past 40 years, the country has experienced a degeneration into lawlessness, coupled with rapid reactions from crowds against anyone who is accused of a crime. The police had registered an FIR against 900 workers for the Priyantha Kumara case. This means at least a thousand people must have been around at the time of this unfortunate incident, but just one could muster the courage to stand up to the crowd. Though strict punishment is held up as a way to control gruesome crime, even its severest form cannot work without an attempt to change the way society thinks. From the lynching of Mashal Khan to the power of armed religious groups on campuses, regressive thought has infiltrated schools, homes and workplaces -- and has shown time and again that it is willing to use violence to enforce its retrograde beliefs. The only way forward is to ensure that the abyss of violence staring at us is met not with silence but with demands for justice and a society safe for all. Unless we focus on these agents of hate and ask those in power to change the circumstances that allow them to flourish, these lynch mobs are empowered by us all.