5. Pakistan Upholds Death Sentence for Christian Woman A high court in Pakistan has upheld the death sentence for a Christian woman who was accused of blasphemy for insulting the Prophet Mohammed. Asia Bibi, an illiterate farm laborer and mother of five, is the first woman in Pakistan to be sentenced to death under the nations stringent blasphemy laws. After the high court in the provincial capital Lahore dismissed Bibis appeal on Thursday, a pro-Christian organization accused the courts two judges of being influenced by two dozen Islamic clerics who reportedly were present in the courtroom to apply pressure, CNS News reported. The charge came from the Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), a group with branches in Pakistan and Britain that provides legal assistance to Christians accused under the blasphemy laws. I am very disappointed with todays result and my thoughts and prayers are with Asias family, said CLAAS-UK director Nasir Saeed. It is not surprising that the judges were swayed by pressure from local influential Muslims, but I had hoped that justice would prevail and that the case would be judged based on its merits. While the rest of the world condemns such draconian laws, Pakistan continues to persecute its minorities simply because of their religion. As the Insider Report disclosed in December, Asia was among a group of agricultural workers taking a drink from a communal well during a rest break in the summer of 2009. When Asia, the only non-Muslim in the group, dipped her cup in the well, co-workers accused her of defiling the water because she is a Christian. Asia replied, I dont believe Mohammed would share the same view as you, according to CNS News. A mob later came to her house and beat her. She was arrested and spent a year in jail before being charged. In November 2010, a judge sentenced her to death by hanging. A month after her conviction, a Muslim cleric announced a reward equivalent to $10,000 for anyone who killed her, the Express Tribune in Pakistan reported. The Insider Report updated Bibis story in May and reported that after the governor of Punjab state, Salman Taseer, took up Bibis case, he was shot dead by one of his bodyguards. Hundreds of lawyers offered the killer free representation and 500 Muslim scholars gave him an honorary title as Lover of the Prophet. Pakistans federal minorities minister, a Christian who supported Bibi, was also shot dead. CLAAS now plans to make a final appeal to Pakistans Supreme Court, but says because of a large backlog of cases the process could take years. Bibi has already been behind bars since June 2009.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 21:21:16 +0000
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