Ayaz Nizami

Ayaz Nizami is a blogger and political prisoner in Pakistan known for his arrest on 24 March 2017 for alleged blasphemy, with a possible death penalty for such charges.

Biography

Early life Ayaz Nizami is a pseudonym for Abdul Waheed. who primarily specialises in Islamic law such as "tafsir, Hadiths, Fiqh and their principles";

Activism Before his arrest, he allegedly translated materials critical of Islam in English to Urdu for publishing, and was first exposed by Alyan Khan, a Pakistani political author. and allegedly served as the vice president of the Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan.

Arrest On 24 March 2017, Nizami was arrested for alleged blasphemy by the Federal Investigation Agency, and other agencies in Pakistan. Two other bloggers were arrested along with Nizami in a crackdown on social media content deemed blasphemous by the Pakistani government. After his arrest, the hashtag #hangayaznizami and #FreeAyazNizami was trending on Twitter in Pakistan, and authorities shut down his social media account over material deemed controversial.