PAKISTAN: Christian Woman’s Death Sentence Appeal Postponed

Source: BosNews Life, October 13, 2016

After waiting seven years in jail, Pakistan’s first Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy had her final Supreme Court appeal adjourned as angry Muslims packed the court room to demand her execution.

Aasiya Noreen, better known as Asia Bibi, who has been prison since the summer of 2009, was detained for allegedly insulting Islam’s prophet when she offered water to a Muslim co-worker and defended her faith in Jesus Christ.

Trial observers told BosNewsLife that one judge of the Supreme Court in Islamabad, Pakistan’s highest court, refused to be one of the three judges to decide on Bibi’s appeal because he had previously heard all details of a case against Mumtaz Qadri, who murdered the governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, in January 2011.

Quadri said he killed the governor for demanding that Asia Bibi would be freed. The governor also called Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes “black laws” and called for reforms and a presidential pardon for Asia Bibi.

» Read full story and a related story from WorldWatch Monitor. On a more positive note, we are glad to hear that Iranian pastor Behnam Irani has been released. He has also been held in prison for seven years.

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