RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - A Pakistani court sentenced to death on Saturday the killer of the governor of Pakistan's largest province, a defense lawyer said.
"He has been given the death sentence," Shuja-ur-Rehman told Reuters.
Mumtaz Qadri believed he was enforcing divine law by murdering a blasphemer when he killed Punjab Governor Salman Taseer on Jan. 4. The killer, one of the governor's bodyguards, was viewed as a hero by many Pakistanis, highlighting how deeply religious extremism has penetrated mainstream Pakistani society.
Taseer had been calling for reform of Pakistan's harsh blasphemy law.
