Christian Mom Jailed for ‘Blaspheming’ Mohammed Heading to Canada After Court Upholds Acquittal

"I am really grateful to everybody. Now after nine years it is confirmed that I am free and I will be going to hug my daughters." Asia Bibi

By Calvin Freiburger
Life Site News

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has rejected a challenge to its acquittal of Asia Bibi on blasphemy charges, ensuring the Christian mother can finally join her daughters in Canada.

In 2009, the farm worker and mother of five from the small town of Itan Wali was arrested for blasphemy over an argument with some Muslim co-workers who allegedly claimed they couldn’t drink from a cup she had touched, as her Christian faith contaminated it. She was accused of making offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in the ensuing argument, in response to claims she should convert to Islam.

Bibi was subsequently beaten and allegedly raped at her home, during which her attackers coerced a blasphemy confession out of her. She was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to death by hanging. The case quickly garnered international attention, with groups such as the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) fighting on her behalf.

In October, the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned Bibi’s conviction and authorized her immediate release. “Blasphemy is a serious offence but the insult of the appellant’s religion and religious sensibilities by the complainant party and then mixing truth with falsehood in the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was also not short of being blasphemous,” Judge Asif Saeed Khan Khosa wrote.

The ruling sparked violent protests, and while Bibi was technically free she remained in grave danger, and she and her family had to spend this past Christmas in protective custody in an undisclosed location.

The Supreme Court upheld its October ruling on Tuesday, dismissing a challenge of it for lack of merit, the Catholic Herald reports.

“I feel huge admiration for the Supreme Court justices who, by taking this decision, have been willing to put the rule of law above every other consideration,” Liverpool human rights campaigner Lord Alton said. “We cannot forget that Asia Bibi’s case is one of many, and that, by some estimates, more than 70 people are currently on death-row for alleged blasphemy crimes.”

Bibi was elated by the news that she’ll soon be able to go to Canada to finally be with her daughters, according to a friend speaking anonymously to the Associated Press. She reportedly speaks with them daily, and has been worried for her 19-year-old who struggles with unspecified learning challenges.

"I am really grateful to everybody. Now after nine years it is confirmed that I am free and I will be going to hug my daughters," Bibi said, according to the friend.

Website:Life Site News

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PAKISTAN'S TOP COURT TO DECIDE ASIA BIBI'S FATE AS MUSLIM EXTREMISTS DEMAND HER DEATH

Islamists demand the execution of Christian mother Asia Bibi in Pakistan in this
 protest uploaded on video on November 4, 2018.
 | (Screenshot: YouTube/euronews (in Italiano))

By Leah Marie Ann Klett
Breaking Christian News

Pakistan's top court will decide next week whether a challenge against the acquittal of Christian mother Asia Bibi can proceed as radical Islamists continue to call for her execution.

Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Malook, revealed that on Jan. 29 Pakistan’s Supreme Court will review a petition launched by Islamists calling for her blasphemy conviction to be overturned, the Pakistani news outlet Dawn reports. If the court rejects the petition, Bibi will finally be free to leave Pakistan.

The 47-year-old mother-of-five, who was on death row for eight years, was accused by Muslim farm laborers of having insulted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which is an offense punishable by death in Pakistan.

She was convicted despite denying the charges, and in October the Supreme Court overturned the guilty verdict. The decision sparked nationwide protests by Muslim hardliners, prompting authorities to take Bibi into hiding. Since her acquittal, she has since been living at a secret location, under guard.

Muslim extremists have threatened to kill anyone who supports Bibi, and in efforts to end the violence, authorities struck a deal with protesters. As part of the agreement, the Pakistani government pledged she would remain in the country until the Supreme Court reviews the petition against her acquittal.

A three-member bench will hear the review petition, which claims that the Supreme Court's acquittal of Bibi did not meet the standards of jurisprudence as well as Islamic provisions.

Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, the lawyer who filed the petition seeking an appeal, told AFP the court is expected to decide the same day if the appeal is admitted or not.

In December, he told the BBC he gets "a lot of peace" from prosecuting alleged blasphemers like Bibi and "will be rewarded for it in the hereafter.”

"For us the most sacred thing is [Islamic] prophet Muhammad. Everything we do is for him," he said, insisting that no Muslim would ever falsely accuse a non-Muslim of committing blasphemy.

Despite her release from prison, Bibi continues to live in fear of being killed and is guarded by security forces who've barred her from even opening a window, an unidentified friend revealed earlier this month. She’s also undergoing treatment for various illnesses she suffered while in prison.

Bibi’s children have been taken to Canada for their safety, and while various western countries have been mentioned as possible destinations that could grant the Christian woman asylum, her fate remains uncertain.

Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws prescribe a death sentence for anyone convicted of insulting Islam or the Muhammad.

Approximately 40 people are believed to be on death row or serving a life sentence for blasphemy, according to a 2018 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. While no one convicted of blasphemy has ever been legally executed in Pakistan, at least 70 people have reportedly been killed since 1990 in attacks by lynch mobs.

Rights groups say the law is frequently misused, often to settle personal vendettas and property disputes — and religious minorities are disproportionately affected by such accusations.

Those who call for changes to the country’s blasphemy law also risk death: In 2011, Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province who had campaigned for Bibi’s release and changes in the laws, was shot and killed by his police bodyguard.

Two months later, Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister of minorities and the only Christian cabinet minister in the Pakistani government, was also killed after he also was calling for changes to the blasphemy law.

Pakistan ranks as the fifth worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s World Watch List.

Website: Christian Post

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Asia Bibi: Police Warn Christians that Terrorists are Set to Attack; Churches in 'Critical Moment'

U.S. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul told CNN last week that he has spoken to President Donald Trump about granting Bibi asylum...

Islamic protesters against Asia Bibi's freedom take the streets in Pakistan 

on November 1, 2018. | (Screenshot: YouTube/TRT World)

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

Pakistani police have warned the leaders of Christian groups that terrorists are planning attacks against believers over the fallout of the Asia Bibi case.

The Lahore Police Inspectorate has urged Christian institutions to "pay attention to vigilance,” outlining that terror groups such as "Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan" and "Jamaat-ul-Ahrar" have made plans for attacks, Agenzia Fides reported.

The police vowed that security measures have been put in place at Christian places and churches, but danger remains high as Islamic extremists seek to punish believers for their support of Bibi.

The Christian mother of five was acquitted of blasphemy in October after spending eight years on death row for insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, something which she has continuously denied.

Persecution watchdog groups and her supporters celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn her conviction and sentence, but Bibi and her family are believed to still be in Pakistan, hiding in fear for their lives.

In the weeks following her acquittal, Christians have been attacked as hardliners took to the streets to protest. Peter Jacob, the executive director for the Center for Social Justice in Lahore, said earlier in November that Christians were "taken out of their cars and beaten up," among other forms of violence.

Bishop Humphrey Peters, an Anglican pastor at the head of the "Church of Pakistan" in Peshawar, responded to the latest police letter by admitting that Christians are in a “critical moment.”

“Christians in Pakistani have trust in the security forces. We will continue to carry out our role in society, in full cooperation with law enforcement and government,” Peters told Fides.

Catholic layman Adeel Patras Chaudhry of "Jesus Life TV" commented,

"Christians will pay close attention and act with caution in the organization of gatherings and celebrations at Christmas time. We pray for the protection of the faithful and also of the security forces, committed to our protection. We are aware of the delicate situation and collaborate with the police and with the Government.”

Fr. Qaisar Feroz, executive secretary of the Commission for Social Communications in the Catholic Episcopal Conference, insisted that despite the violent fallout, the judicial system did the right thing in freeing Bibi.

"The decision of the Supreme Court has restored justice and truth to this case, in which an innocent was in jail. We hope that the woman can lead a happy life. All citizens must see, in all this, the good for Pakistan: a nation where legality and law are still respected. This is our idea of Pakistan,” Feroz argued.

Several Western governments, including Canada and Italy, have said that they are reaching out to help Bibi and her family, but they are still awaiting asylum.

U.S. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul told CNN last week that he has spoken to President Donald Trump about granting Bibi asylum, noting that there are fears she might be killed or imprisoned again if she remains there. 

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‘We Should Let Her Come to Our Country’: Senator Rand Paul Pleads With President Trump to Help Asia Bibi

If no-one steps up to the plate and welcomes Bibi into their nation as a refugee, Paul said he is “worried she’ll be killed.”

By Will Maule
Faith Wire

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has appealed for help from President Trump on behalf of stricken Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi. Last month, the 53-year-old mother was acquitted on charges of blasphemy but remains in grave danger as Islamic radicals protest the landmark Supreme Court ruling and demand her execution. Taking to Twitter, Sen. Paul said that he had “spoke with ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ about offering asylum to Asia Bibi.”

“Pakistan must ensure her safety until she is able to depart in the near future,” he added. “This Christian woman has been persecuted enough!”

Senator Rand Paul

✔@RandPaul

Just spoke to @RichardGrenell about helping Asia Bibi in Pakistan. We are committed to working together to give her asylum in the United States. Thank you Ric for all you’re doing to assist her! Let’s make it happen.

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3:45 PM - Nov 15, 2018

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Bibi is currently being held under armed guard at an undisclosed location in Islamabad after being released from prison in Punjab province. However, as part of a deal negotiated between the Pakistani government and leading Islamic clerics from the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, the acquitted woman’s Supreme Court ruling is now being reviewed. 

So, Bibi’s situation remains highly unstable. Indeed, as the government seeks to put the mother on its Exit Control List (ECL) and prevent her from leaving the country, a petition has been lodged by the blood-thirsty religious fundamentalists in a bid to identify “errors” in the Supreme Court ruling – an appeal that the government has agreed not to obstruct. Should the review conclude that the Supreme Court was erroneous in its ruling, Bibi could find herself thrown back into prison, and may be swiftly placed on death row once again.

This is something that Sen. Paul picked up on in an interview with CNN. Paul noted that “they will probably convict her again” if the ruling is overturned. “And if she goes through all of that — she has already spent eight years in prison on death row, which has to be a horrific experience — I’m worried that she won’t survive.”

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Asia Bibi Acquitted, Christian Mother Speaks Out After 8 Years on Death Row: 'I Can't Believe It'

(Screenshot bottom right: courtesy: British Pakistani Christian Assn)
Islamic protesters march on October 31, 2018 in Pakistan after
Christian mother of five Asia Bibi's (bottom right) acquittal.

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

Asia Bibi, the Christian mother of five who has been on death row for blasphemy since 2010, has been acquitted by Pakistan's Supreme Court.

Although the decision was made back on October 8, it was held hidden from the public until its announcement on Wednesday.

"The appeal is allowed. She has been acquitted. The judgment of high court as well as trial court is reversed. Her conviction is set aside," Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar declared in the 56-page judgment.

"Her conviction is set aside and she is to be relieved forthwith if not required in other charges," he added.

The ruling related to a 2015 appeal against the death sentence for Bibi, who in 2009 was accused by a group of Muslim coworkers of having insulted the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

The court document explained that it is the onus of the prosecution to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt, something which the judges found it had failed to accomplish.

"Keeping in mind the evidence produced by the prosecution against the alleged blasphemy committed by the appellant, the prosecution has categorically failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt," the justices found.

Bibi, who has been the subject of campaigns by Islamic radicals in Pakistan calling for her death, could hardly believe that after nearly a decade in prison, she is to be set free.

"I can't believe what I am hearing, will I go out now? Will they let me out, really?" Bibi told AFP by phone from prison. "I just don't know what to say, I am very happy, I can't believe it."

Her lawyer, Saiful Mulook, spoke of the magnitude of the decision:

"The verdict has shown that the poor, the minorities and the lowest segments of society can get justice in this country despite its shortcomings. This is the biggest and happiest day of my life."

Bibi's husband, Ashiq Masih, pointed out that the family knew all these years that the wife and mother was innocent.

"I am very happy. My children are very happy. We are grateful to God. We are grateful to the judges for giving us justice. We knew that she is innocent," Masih declared.

"My wife spent so many years in jail and we hope that we will soon be together in a peaceful place."

Major persecution watchdog groups, such as Open Doors USA, who have been campaigning for Bibi's freedom for years, hailed the verdict.

"We are breathing a sigh of relief today after learning the Pakistani Supreme Court has dropped charges against Asia Bibi, as these charges stemmed from her Christian identity as well as false accusations against her," Open Doors CEO David Curry said in a statement shared with The Christian Post.

"We are hopeful that Pakistan will now take additional steps to offer religious freedom and basic human rights throughout the country," he added.

The British Pakistani Christian Association said that Christians in the country have been warned of the high risk of revenge attacks, however.

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