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Asia Bibi death sentence temporarily suspended


Asia Bibi

Asia Bibi

Christian mother of five children, Asia Bibi, had her death sentence temporarily suspended by Pakistan's Supreme Court yesterday, as an appeals case against her conviction of blasphemy begins. She has been on death row in a Pakistan prison for five years. "The execution of Asia Bibi has been suspended and will remain suspended until the decision of this appeal," said lawyer Saif-ul-Malook.

She was the first woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws and her case is one of the most controversial in Pakistan. While hundreds of thousands throughout the world have called for her release, many in Pakistan have protested against her and said they would kill her if she were ever released - including the imam in her own village near Lahore. Her husband and daughters live in hiding and say they have received many death threats.

Bibi's blasphemy accusation followed a squabble with other villagers in her rural Punjabi community in June 2009. In 2011, two Pakistani politicians - the governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer and Minorities Minister Shahbaz Batti - were assassinated after questioning the Blasphemy Laws and recommending Bibi's release.

Pakistan has never executed anyone for blasphemy but some people accused of the offence in the past have been lynched by crowds. Lawyers, judges and those seeking to reform the blasphemy laws have also been threatened, attacked or even killed. The country's Human Rights Commission of Pakistan pointed out recently that abuses of the blasphemy laws continue to take a heavy toll. Around 14 individuals are on the death row - among them Asia Bibi - while 19 others are serving life sentences on blasphemy charges. More than 50 people have been murdered in extrajudicial cases since 1990, including a Christian couple horrifically burned to death at a brick kiln by a mob last November.

Pope Francis drew attention to Asia Bibi's plight in April when he greeted her husband and a daughter during his General Audience in St Peter's Square, saying he would pray for her and for all persecuted Christians in Pakistan. Bibi's family was in Rome to urge European leaders and the Vatican to put pressure on the Pakistani government to release her. Bibi has suffered numerous health problems while in prison, including intestinal bleeding, and is having trouble walking, her family has said. She is kept in isolation and rarely leaves her windowless cell.

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