Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel, a poor Pakistani Christian couple, were accused by the imam of their local mosque in 2013 of sending blasphemous text messages to him. Coming from a poor background, as wife Shagufta’s brother points out, they likely did not even possess the literacy skills to do so. The lawyer who represented the couple believes, also, that since the messages were sent from a phone the couple had recently lost, the entire case was a probable fabrication intended to settle a personal account.

None of this mattered; in April 2014, after police allegedly broke Shafqat’s leg to force a confession from him, the two were sentenced to death.

"All the time they are crying… they are missing them, they wish to see their parents again." - Joseph, Shagufta's brother, on the couple's two children

Shagufta and Shafqat were thereafter imprisoned on death row as repeated attempts to appeal the verdict were mired in procedural delays. Shafqat, who has paraplegia, was "confined to bed" during his time in prison as his condition worsened.

As of 2019, Saif ul Malook, the lawyer who represented Asia Bibi and saw her conveyed to freedom, began representing the couple through the appeals process. He said the case against them wass even flimsier than the one brought against Bibi.

Their final hearing, set to take place in June 2020, was initially delayed, officially due to complications posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in June 2021, the couple was finally acquitted for lack of evidence. After the acquittal, their lawyer faced death threats.