This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

Asia Bibi, the Christian farm labourer who spent eight years on death row in Pakistan for blasphemy, is expected to leave the country after the supreme court upheld her acquittal.

The court on Tuesday rejected a challenge to October’s ruling brought by an extreme Islamist party, which led violent protests across the country in the autumn and called for Bibi to be killed.

Bibi, who has been held at a secret location since her death sentence was overturned, could be flown out of the country within hours. Two of her children are reportedly already in Canada, which has offered Bibi asylum.

After the ruling, Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Malook, suggested that she could leave Pakistan imminently. “I think at this time she is here [in Pakistan] – but by tonight, I don’t know,” he told reporters outside the court.

Extremists had “said they would kill her despite the judgment of the supreme court. Therefore, I think she should leave the country.”

The supreme court’s decision was welcomed by Christian and human rights campaigners, who have lobbied western countries to offer sanctuary to Bibi, her husband and five children.

In November, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, said his country was in talks with Pakistan about helping her. Australia, Spain and France are also thought to have offered sanctuary.

Chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa, one of a three-judge panel that considered the petition, said: “Based on merit, this review petition is dismissed.”

He added: “The image of Islam we are showing to the world gives me much grief and sorrow.”

Malook, who returned to Islamabad at the weekend after fleeing to the Netherlands amid death threats following October’s ruling, called the decision a victory for Pakistan’s constitution and rule of law. The court had “insisted on very strict proofs of blasphemy” and found none, he said.

In a statement, Amnesty International said Bibi should be free “to reunite with her family and seek safety in a country of her choice”.

John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need, which campaigned on behalf of Bibi and her family, said: “This is a victory for the rule of law in Pakistan and promises to draw a line under a miscarriage of justice that has cost almost 10 years of pain and suffering for Asia Bibi and her family. We are all so happy for them.

“Now, please God, Asia can be reunited with all her family and together rebuild their lives in a new and safe environment.”

Zoe Smith of Open Doors, which campaigns against Christian persecution around the world, said: “We are overjoyed that justice has prevailed and are praying that this heralds a new era of equal rights for Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan.”

She added: “Asia and her family’s safety remains of paramount importance. Many Christians will still be praying for their safety.”

David Alton, a peer who advocates for religious freedom, 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 now needed to be “given time and space to rebuild her life”.

But Hafiz Ehtisham Ahmed, an Islamist activist linked to the extremist Red Mosque in Islamabad, said Bibi may not be safe wherever she goes. “She deserves to be murdered according to sharia. If she goes abroad, don’t Muslims live there? If she goes out of Pakistan … anybody can kill her there,” she told AFP.

The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, which was formed to defend Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and which led violent protests demanding Bibi’s execution after her acquittal, called on Tuesday for its members to be ready for action.

However, most of its leaders are in detention after a government crackdown, and there were few protesters at the court in Islamabad.

Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 in what swiftly became Pakistan’s most infamous blasphemy case. She had been accused by Muslim villagers of insulting the prophet Muhammad in a row over a cup of water. She always insisted she was innocent.

Blasphemy is a highly inflammatory issue in Pakistan, where even unproven accusations of insulting Islam can spark lynchings. Human rights activists say blasphemy charges are frequently used to settle personal scores.

After the supreme court overturned her conviction, cities across Pakistan were paralysed for several days by violent demonstrations with enraged extremists calling for her beheading.

In a deal to end the violence, the government, led by the prime minister, Imran Khan, struck a deal allowing the petition seeking an appeal against the supreme court’s judgment. Khan was accused of capitulating to the extremists’ demands.</s>Pakistan's top court has rejected a challenge to the acquittal of a Christian woman on blasphemy charges.

The Supreme Court upheld its decision to overturn Asia Bibi's conviction and death sentence.

She was originally convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a row with her neighbours.

Asia Bibi has always maintained her innocence in a case that has polarised Pakistan.

The original ruling set off violent protests by religious hardliners who support strong blasphemy laws.

Asia Bibi spent eight years on death row before the Supreme Court quashed her sentence last October.

Hardliners had petitioned to overturn this ruling.

"Based on merit, this petition is dismissed," Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosar said in court on Tuesday.</s>ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan’s Supreme Court will on Tuesday begin a review of its own acquittal of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy, a verdict that sparked days of Islamist protests and threats and chaos across the country.

Asia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row, has been in hiding since the Supreme Court freed her in October, with religious hardliners calling for her death and putting pressure on the government to prevent her from leaving the country.

Most reviews of Supreme Court verdicts are dismissed immediately, but the politically sensitive nature of the case has added an extra layer of uncertainty.

A three-judge panel, including the new Supreme Court Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, are due to hear the case.

Bibi’s lawyer, Saif-ul-Malook, who fled to Europe due to fears for his safety last year, told Reuters he expected the case to be dismissed.

“They have filed the petition on flimsy grounds. They haven’t attempted to counter her release on constitutional grounds,” said Malook, who returned to Pakistan this week and will represent Bibi in court.

“God willing, she will have the decision in her favor tomorrow. She will be a free person to go anywhere she wants to.”

Bibi is widely expected to seek asylum abroad due to safety concerns, with Canada among the favorites to accept her. In November, Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau said his country was in talks with Pakistan about helping Bibi.

Bibi, a farm worker, was condemned in 2010 over allegations that she made derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbors working in the fields with her objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim. She has always denied committing blasphemy.

Leaders of the ultra-Islamist Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) group blocked main roads in Pakistan’s biggest cites for three days after Bibi’s acquittal, calling for the murder of the Supreme Court judges who freed her and urging their cooks and servants to kill them.

The TLP called off the protests after striking a deal with the government that would see authorities seek to put Bibi on an “exit control list” barring her from leaving the country. The government later cracked down on TLP members, detaining more than 3,000 activists and pressing terrorism charges against the group’s leaders.

Bibi’s case has outraged Christians worldwide and reignited a debate about Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy law, which critics say is often abused and unfairly targets ethnic minorities.

“No one should be able to intimidate the Supreme Court into reversing a long-overdue ruling. Asia Bibi has been found to be innocent,” said Omar Waraich, deputy South Asia director for Amnesty International.

“She should now finally be free to be reunited with her family and leave the country if she chooses.”</s>A petition to overturn last year’s acquittal of blasphemy charges against the Catholic wife and mother was dismissed Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD — A petition to overturn last year’s acquittal of blasphemy charges against Catholic wife and mother Asia Bibi was dismissed by Pakistan’s Supreme Court Tuesday.

The challenge was dismissed Jan. 29 by a three-member Supreme Court panel led by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.

Bibi, who has been in hiding since shortly following the initial verdict overturning her death sentence late last October, is expected to leave Pakistan if granted asylum abroad, the BBC reports.

The mother of five had spent eight years on death row in Pakistan on blasphemy charges after she was accused of making disparaging remarks about the Islamic prophet Muhammad after an argument stemming from a cup of water.

Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and was sentenced to death by hanging. She immediately appealed. The Lahore High Court upheld the conviction in 2014, which she then appealed to the country’s Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed to hear her appeal in 2015.

Her full acquittal by the Supreme Court Oct. 31, 2018, sparked renewed protests by Islamic hardliners in the country, who had called for her execution since her initial conviction.

Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad is preparing for the possibility of further protests by Islamist groups following Tuesday’s dismissal, despite having cracked down at the end of last year with the arrests of a number of those responsible for the unrest.

The country’s blasphemy laws impose strict punishment on those who desecrate the Quran or who defame or insult Muhammad. Pakistan’s state religion is Islam, and around 97% of the population is Muslim.

Although the government has never executed a person under the blasphemy law, accusations alone have inspired mob and vigilante violence.

Since her arrest, Bibi has garnered international support from numerous world leaders calling for her immediate release, including Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. In 2015, Pope Francis met with her daughter and offered his prayers.</s>Islamabad -- Pakistan's top court on Tuesday upheld its acquittal of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, clearing the last legal hurdle and freeing Aasia Bibi to leave the country to join her daughters, who have fled to Canada and been given asylum.

The three-judge panel of the country's Supreme Court said the arguments of the lawyer acting on behalf of the petitioners did not satisfy the judges.

Radical Islamists had demanded the court reverse its Oct. 31 acquittal and execute Bibi, who spent eight years on death row and has remained under guard at a secret place since her acquittal.
• Asia Bibi's family appeals to Trump for help after blasphemy acquittal 



Following that decision last year, radical religious parties took to the streets to protest, calling for the killing of judges who acquitted her and for the overthrow of Prime Minister Imran Khan's government. They also filed a last-minute appeal for a review of the Supreme Court acquittal. The protests were spearheaded by the radical Tehreek-e-Labbaik party, whose single point agenda is protection of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

Bibi, who always insisted that she was innocent, had said she would leave the country as soon as her legal battles were over. Her lawyer, who fled the country after receiving death threats, returned to Pakistan for the final review.

The blasphemy law and its backers

Bibi's case goes to the core of one of Pakistan's most controversial issues -- the blasphemy law, often used to settle scores or intimidate followers of minority religions, including minority Shiite Muslims. A charge of insulting Islam can bring the death penalty.

But the accusation on its own is sometimes enough to whip up vengeful mobs, even if the courts acquit defendants. A provincial governor who defended Bibi was shot and killed, as was a government minority minister who dared question the blasphemy law.

Bibi's ordeal began on a hot day in 2009 when she brought water to fellow farmhands who refused to drink from the same container as a Christian woman. Two of her fellow farmworkers argued with Bibi and later accused her of insulting Islam's prophet Mohammad. Bibi has steadfastly denied the charge.

Since her acquittal Bibi has spent her days in seclusion for fear of being targeted by angry mobs clamoring for her death. In her hideout, protected by Pakistani security, she has longed for her children, speaking almost daily to her daughters in Canada, according to a friend who was interviewed by The Associated Press. He asked not to be identified fearing reprisal from radical religious groups.

Following protests that accompanied her acquittal, the authorities arrested radical clerics Khadim Hussain Rizvi and Mohammad Afzal Qadri, both leaders of the Tehreekk-e-Labbaik Party, and several of their followers for destroying public property during rallies against Bibi and for inciting their followers to violence. The clerics and the others remain in custody.

The cleric petitioning the court for Bibi's return to death row, Qari Salam, is linked with Rizvi's Tehreek-e-Labbaik party.

Rizvi's party said Monday it will not accept any decision in favor of Bibi's release and asked its followers to prepare for more mass protests.

Pakistani police have stepped up security around the Supreme Court in Islamabad ahead of its decision Tuesday.</s>Solidarity sit-in for Asia Bibi in Rome organised by the CitizenGO Italia Foundation last year.

Solidarity sit-in for Asia Bibi in Rome organised by the CitizenGO Italia Foundation last year.

PAKISTAN’S SUPREME COURT today rejected a challenge against its decision to acquit Asia Bibi, lifting the last legal hurdle in the years-long blasphemy case and potentially paving the way for the Christian mother to leave the country.

“Based on merit, this review petition is dismissed,” Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa told a hearing at Pakistan’s highest court, which overturned Bibi’s death sentence for blasphemy last year.

The ruling ignited immediate calls from activists to allow her to leave the country, where she remains a prime target with the government refusing to reveal her whereabouts and Islamist extremists calling for her murder.

Speculation is rampant that she will seek asylum in a European or North American country, and unconfirmed Pakistani reports claim her children have already fled to Canada.

“She should now be free to reunite with her family and seek safety in a country of her choice,” Amnesty International said in a statement.

Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 in what swiftly became Pakistan’s most infamous blasphemy case.

The Supreme Court overturned her conviction last year, sparking days of violent demonstrations with enraged extremists calling for her beheading.

Authorities struck a deal to end the violence which included allowing the petition seeking an appeal against the Supreme Court’s judgement.

Earlier today, the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) party, which led violent protests demanding Bibi’s execution after her acquittal, called for its members to be ready for action in a message sent to journalists.

But most of its leaders remain in detention after a government crackdown, and few protesters could be seen at the court in Islamabad, where security appeared as normal.

That did not prevent those who did show up for the hearing from calling for violence against Bibi prior to the court’s ruling, however.

“She deserves to be murdered according to Shariah,” Hafiz Ehtisham Ahmed, an Islamist activist linked to the extremist Red Mosque in Islamabad, told AFP.

Bibi will not be safe even if she leaves the country, he warned. “If she goes abroad, don’t Muslims live there? If she goes out of Pakistan… anybody can kill her there.”

Bibi’s lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook, who returned to Pakistan over the weekend after spending weeks abroad in the wake of his client’s acquittal, dismissed the petition as “frivolous” as he walked into the court.

The three-member bench hearing the petition was be headed by new Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa — considered the country’s top expert in criminal law — who helped draft the decision to acquit Bibi.

Blasphemy remains a massively inflammatory issue in Pakistan, where even unproven accusations of insulting Islam can spark lynchings.

Many cases see Muslims accusing Muslims, and rights activists say blasphemy charges are frequently used to settle personal scores.

Minorities — particularly Christians — are often caught in the crossfire.

The allegations against Bibi date back to 2009, when Muslim women accused her of blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed, a charge punishable by death under Pakistan law.

The accusation emerged from an argument after Bibi was asked to fetch water while working in the fields, but the women objected to her touching the water bowl as a non-Muslim.

Bibi has denied the charges, and her prosecution rallied international rights groups, politicians and religious figures.

Pope Benedict XVI called for her release in 2010, while in 2015 her daughter met his successor Pope Francis.</s>ISLAMABAD (CNS) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court upheld its acquittal of a Pakistani Catholic woman sentenced to hang for blasphemy.

Asia Bibi, a mother of five, is now free to leave Pakistan and is expected to join her family in Canada, where they were granted asylum, the Associated Press reported.

AP reported that Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa stood by the court’s Oct. 31 verdict, which criticized the conflicting testimony against Bibi.

“You think we give the death sentence to someone on the basis of false evidence?” he said according to media reports. “Such lies were told that one statement doesn’t match with another.”

Tehreek-e-Labbaaik, an extremist group, challenged the Oct. 31 acquittal. Protests erupted after the original acquittal, and the BBC reported that, after the Jan. 29 decision, Pakistan’s electronic media were downplaying the story “in a concerted move to forestall public unrest.”

The ordeal of Bibi, who worked as a farmhand, began in June 2009 when she was accused of insulting Muhammad, the founder of Islam, after Muslim co-workers objected to her drinking from a common water supply because she is a Christian.

Bibi was rescued from a mob by police, only to be sentenced to death in 2010 for violating Section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which makes insulting Muhammad a capital offense.

No one has been executed under the law so far, but Christians who are falsely accused often are lynched or spend many years in prison.

Copyright ©2019 Catholic News Service / U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Send questions about this site to cns@catholicnews.com</s>The Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s highest court has upheld the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five who was put on death row for eight years after being convicted of violating the nation’s blasphemy laws.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Bibi will not be retried after being found not guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with a few Muslim colleagues.

“We are not hearing the case again, the lawyer was unable to point out a single error in the judgment,” stated Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, as reported by CNN.

“We have to look at the value of the statements by witnesses, how can we hang someone on a false witness statement.”

Rimmel Mohydin of Amnesty International said in a statement released Tuesday that with the ruling, Bibi “must finally get her freedom and an end to her ordeal.”

“After nine years behind bars for a crime she didn’t commit, it is difficult to see this long overdue verdict as justice. But she should now be free to reunite with her family and seek safety in a country of her choice,” stated Mohydin.

“This shameful delay in enforcing Asia Bibi’s rights only reinforces the need for the Pakistani government to repeal the blasphemy laws as soon as possible, as well as other laws that discriminate against religious minorities and put their lives in danger.”

In 2010, Bibi was sentenced to death after being found guilty of blasphemy against the Islamic faith, stemming from an incident with field workers in 2009 who claimed that she insulted Muhammad.

Bibi denied the charge and appealed the decision, but remained in prison for years despite international pressure and the campaigns of human rights groups.

Last October, Pakistan’s Supreme Court acquitted Bibi of wrongdoing, concluding that “the prosecution has categorically failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.”

Violent protests took place in response to the news of Bibi’s acquittal, with many in the Islamic country seeking to murder her once she is freed. Not allowed to leave the country after a petition was submitted against her acquittal, Bibi has been living in hiding. Tuesday's decision allows her to finally leave.

Qari Muhammad Salam, an Islamic cleric based in the same village as Bibi, said in a statement last year that he disagreed with the Supreme Court decision and believed that Bibi “deserves the death sentence according to the law.”

“If you start forgiving people on this issue, then it will become routine that people will commit blasphemy and just ask for forgiveness,” stated Salam.

“We wish that if she had not uttered such remarks, and she had been living like before it would have been peaceful. But if someone says this, then there's no compromise on the dignity of the prophet [Muhammad]. Being Muslim, we believe that these are testing times and we should be ready for them.”

Some countries, including Canada, have offered asylum to Bibi. Many in the United States, among them former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, have called on President Donald Trump to grant Bibi and her family asylum.

“President Trump and his administration have been stalwart and vocal champions for religious freedom across the globe. And in Asia Bibi’s case, urgent action is needed RIGHT NOW,” wrote Huckabee last December.</s>What was she accused of?

Why was her case so divisive?

Pakistan's top court has rejected a challenge to the acquittal of a Christian woman on blasphemy charges.The Supreme Court upheld its decision to overturn Asia Bibi's conviction and death sentence.She wasShe has always maintained her innocence in a case that has polarised Pakistan.Hardliners had petitioned to overturn this ruling."Based on merit, this petition is dismissed," Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said in court on Tuesday.Asia Bibi - also known as Asia Noreen - was unable to leave Pakistan while an appeal request was pending."She should now be free to reunite with her family and seek safety in a country of her choice," Amnesty International said in a statement.Asia Bibi is being kept by authorities at a secret location in Islamabad.The ruling clears the way for her to leave Pakistan, though it is not clear when that will happen and where she will go., and some unconfirmed reports say several members of her family may already be abroad.Meanwhile, the court ruling will test the resolve of the far right Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan group, which has conducted a violent anti-blasphemy campaign in the past, though many of its leaders have been under arrest since October when the court first acquitted Asia Bibi.In a concerted move to forestall public unrest, Pakistani electronic media is underplaying the story.Many observers believe the ruling will revive the practice of applying standard legal tests of criminal procedure while adjudicating blasphemy cases, as they had increasingly become hostage to vigilante justice by extremists.The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi had with a group of women in June 2009.They were harvesting fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water.Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to Islam and that she made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response., during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation.Acquitting her, the Supreme Court said that the case was based on unreliable evidence andIslam is Pakistan's national religion and underpins its legal system. Public support for the strict blasphemy laws is strong.Hardline politicians have often backed severe punishments, partly as a way of shoring up their support base.But critics say the laws have often been used to exact revenge after personal disputes, and that convictions are based on thin evidence.Since the 1990s scores of Christians have also been convicted. They make up just 1.6% of the population.The Christian community has been targeted by numerous attacks in recent years, leaving many feeling vulnerable to a climate of intolerance.Since 1990, at least 65 people have reportedly been killed in Pakistan over claims of blasphemy.Asia Bibi, who was born in 1971 and has four children, was the first woman to be sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws.</s>Asia Bibi was spared the death penalty in 2018 over charges of Blasphemy. Mrs Bibi was saved from the hangman by a ruling of the Pakistan's Supreme Court. The court ordered her release in October 2018 after she spent eight years on death row.

She was originally convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a row with her neighbours. The petition was filed by cleric Qari Mohammed Salam, who had lodged the original blasphemy complaint in 2009. But following various challenges to her acquital of charges of blasphemy, the Supreme Court in Islamabad upheld its decision to overturn Asia Bibi's conviction and death sentence on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosar said: "Based on merit, this petition is dismissed,"

The original ruling set off violent protests by religious hardliners against her conviction, who support Pakistan's strict anti-lasphemy laws. Days of nationwide chaos followd as a result of the judge's original verdict. Ms Bibi has always maintained her innocence in a case that sent ripples through the country. Acording to Church in Need UK, Ms Bibi's family were being hunted by extremists in Pakistan in November.

Vigilantes reportedly went door-to-door with photographs of the farm worker in an attempt to track her down. Ms Bibi was held in protective custody following her accquital. According to Al Jazeera, she is currently protected under guard at a secret location in the country, for her own safety. The far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party said it would hold further protests if Bibi's acquittal was not reversed today.

Her lawyer, Saiful Malook, was granted temporary asylum in the Netherlands after facing death threats while Ms Bibi’s husband pleaded for asylum. But Mr Mallook, who returned to the country over the weekend, dismissed the petition as "frivilous" as he walked into the Supreme Court on Monday morning. He said: “It’s neither in accordance with supreme court’s former verdicts nor in accordance with law, it will be dismissed Allah willing, As of Tueday morning, Ms Bibi is now free to leave the country.
Asia Bibi's blasphemy acquittal is upheld by Pakistan's Supreme Court. She may seek asylum.