Pakistani court confirms death sentence for Asia Bibi, jailed four years for blasphemy

The Lahore High Court (LHC) in Pakistan on Thursday upheld the death sentence of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy four years ago, while her lawyers vowed to appeal the verdict.

Asia Bibi, a mother of five, has been on death row since November 2010 after she was found guilty of making “insulting” remarks about the Mohammed during an argument with a Muslim woman.

“A two-judge bench of the Lahore High Court dismissed the appeal of Asia Bibi but we will file an appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan,” her lawyer Shakir Chaudhry told AFP.

During June in 2009, Bibi was working in the field, asked to retrieve some water, but the Muslim women objected, saying she was unfit to touch the bowl. Days later the woman went to a Muslim cleric accusing Bibi of blasphemy which instigated controversy.

A dozen religious clerics, including Qari Saleem who brought forward the initial complaint against Bibi, were present at the court Thursday.

“We will soon distribute sweets among our Muslim brothers for today’s verdict, it’s a victory of Islam,” Saleem told AFP outside the courtroom as the clerics congratulated each other and chanted religious slogans.

Pakistan’s tough blasphemy laws have attracted criticism from rights groups, who say they are frequently misused to settle personal scores.

Lawyers who defend people accused of blasphemy and judges seen as lenient are also risk being accused of the crime themselves and regularly face intimidation.

Blasphemy carries the death penalty, though Pakistan has had a de facto moratorium on civilian hangings since 2008. Only one person has been executed since then, a soldier convicted by a court martial and hanged in November 2012, noted Dawn.com

Asia Bibi’s case has received attention sporadically over the last couple of years as court cases/hearings were regularly delayed. Check out the top stories covering her persecution HERE