By Dan Wooding, Founder of the ASSIST News Service
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (ANS – July 22, 2015)
-- Asia Bibi, the courageous Christian mother-of-five, has been granted
leave to appeal her death sentence by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in
Lahore, and there is now the possibility that she could walk free – and
then face further danger from lynch mobs who would like to kill her.
Naveed Azim who is an officer
with the British Pakistan Christian Association, who attended the court
hearing, broke the news in a message which said, “The Supreme Court of
Pakistan has stayed execution of Asia Bibi on blasphemy charges. The
full bench of Supreme Court ordered in today’s (July 22, 2015) hearing
issued orders to stop implementation of death sentence till next order.
“I am pleased at this decision.
It is obvious that international pressure led to this amazing decision
and I thank all people who have called for her freedom. Sister Asia will
have to spend more time in jail, but her freedom is now a real
possibility and I believe only a matter of time.”
A spokesperson for the BPCA
said, “There is still some serious legal process to follow before she
can be acquitted, but this action is a serious step in the right
direction. Asia is in a much more hopeful position now, but the process
will be long and drawn out. Please continue to pray for her. By
accepting her appeal, the Court has inferred that there is a possibility
for grounds for Asia being exonerated.”
The BPCA has asked Christians
around the globe to continue to pray for her freedom and for “justice to
be served through the courts, a process which we now believe now has
given her the impetus to finally defeat her false blasphemy charge.”
If she is finally freed, she
and her family, will probably have to immediately leave Pakistan because
of death threats against her, and could finish up in Paris, France, who
have offered her a warm welcome.
Ms. Bibi was found guilty of
blasphemy in November 2010, and has been imprisoned for five years and
is currently on death row. She continues to deny accusations that she
insulted the Prophet Muhammad – charges levelled at her by former
colleagues.
“Human rights groups say that
Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws are frequently misused by extremists,
and false charges brought against Christians in order to settle personal
scores or to seize property or businesses. Bibi's case made global
headlines when two prominent politicians were assassinated after trying
to help her,” said Christian Today in the UK.
“The imam who preached hatred
towards her through a public tannoy inciting people to hatred and who
forced the blasphemy charges to be laid against her; the women who first
beat her and insulted her God which she could not bear despite
absorbing all personal insults; and the rapists who cruelly tortured and
dishonored her have all kept their freedom,” said the BPCA
spokesperson.
Chairman of the BPCA, Wilson
Chowdhry said: “The draconian blasphemy law of Pakistan has been
condemned globally and is a tool for discrimination, vendettas and
hatred. The impunity with which perpetrators of false charges can stir
up community hatred, magnified by the intolerance and similar permission
for mosques to preach hatred, have created a toxic situation for
minorities. They are now fleeing Pakistan in their droves with thousands
upon thousands being re-persecuted in South-East Asian countries such
as Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.”
He added: “People across the
globe can now take a deep breath, Our efforts have yielded a modicum of
success and our sister although still confined and without full liberty,
now knows that her freedom may be achieved. The family will still need
our support both financially and in prayer. We must not stop in our
challenge for justice and freedom Asia or the millions of other victims
suffering in the pariah state of Pakistan.”
The US Commission on
International Religious Freedom in May urged the Obama Administration to
designate Pakistan a “country of particular concern”.
“The government failed to
protect citizens, minority and majority alike, from sectarian and
religiously-motivated violence, and Pakistani authorities have not
consistently brought perpetrators to justice or taken action against
societal actors who incite violence,” the Commission said in its annual
report.
Photo caption: Asia Bibi. 2) Dan Wooding
About
the writer: Dan Wooding, 74, is an award-winning journalist who was
born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, now living in Southern
California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for nearly
52 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren
who all live in the UK. He is the author of some 45 books.
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