YouTuber Rajab Butt has been booked under blasphemy and cybercrime laws due to a “religious stir” caused by the launch of his perfume brand that allegedly mocked Pakistan’s blasphemy law, it emerged on Tuesday.
Butt has one of the largest online followings in the country and has been embroiled in controversy for years, including over his brief custody of a lion cub.
In a recent video, since deleted from his social media accounts, Butt launched his “295” perfume which refers to the namesake blasphemy law in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
He said it followed a case filed against him last year, over an earlier video deemed blasphemous by hardliners.
His perfume publicity sparked further ire, prompting a leader of the religiopolitical Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party to file a first information report (FIR) at Lahore’s Nishtar Colony Police Station on Monday under PPC Section 295-A (insulting religious beliefs) and Section 11 (hate speech) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) of 2016.
The FIR, a copy of which is available with media.com, said Butt spread “anti-religious content” in his videos.
The complainant, TLP leader Haider Ali Shah Gillani, said he was watching videos on his cell phone on Sunday when he came across one by Butt.
The FIR said that in the video, Butt was referring to the previous blasphemy case against him and the laws he was charged under, saying his “mentor” — the deceased Indian singer Sidhu Moose Wala — was also charged with similar laws. It added that the video also showed Butt naming his new perfume after the said law — PPC Section 295.
It said Butt had “hurt religious sentiments and violated the blasphemy laws.”
Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in the country, where even unsubstantiated accusations can incite public outrage and lead to lynchings.
In both cases against him, Butt risks up to 10 years in prison. He issued an apology video on Sunday, asserting he was not against the blasphemy laws.
“I apologise for the words I uttered during the launch of the perfume,” he said in the video. “I apologise and announce the discontinuation of this perfume,” he added.
Butt has previously drawn a parallel with his “mentor”, who released a song titled “295” in reference to religious incitement.
Lahore Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operation) Faisal Kamran said the Peca section was added since the issue pertained to comments on social media. He said Butt was currently performing Umrah and would be arrested upon return to the country.
He said the police would approach the Pakistan Ulema Council for its comment over speaking against the blasphemy law and aggrieving religious sentiments.
“Religion is a sensitive issue and one should take special care for speaking about it. People do not use logic in religion and everything is connected to sentiments,” he said, adding that people should be careful while speaking and writing on social media as it could hurt public sentiments.
In other legal troubles, Butt pleaded guilty in January to owning an undocumented wild animal after accepting a lion cub as a wedding gift.
He avoided jail by promising a judge to post animal rights videos for a year.
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