ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death over blasphemy allegations. Asia Bibi was cleared of all blasphemy charges and the apex court ordered her immediate release. A three-judge special bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel heard Bibi's 2014 appeal against her conviction and death sentence under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). An undated picture of Asia Bibi in prison on death row The 56-page detailed judgement was authored by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and included a concurrent opinion by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa. The chief justice wrote that it was a “well settled principal of law that the one who makes an assertion has to prove it. Thus, the onus rests on the prosecution to prove guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt throughout the trial. Presumption of innocence remains throughout the case until such time the prosecution on the evidence satisfies the court beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty of the offence alleged against him.” The top judge added that the expression "proof beyond reasonable doubt" was of fundamental importance to the criminal justice and was one of the principles which sought to ensure that no innocent person was convicted. CJP Nisar added, "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 judgments of the High Court as well as the Trial Court are reversed. Consequently, the conviction as also the sentence of death awarded to the appellant is set aside and she is acquitted of the charge. She be released from jail forthwith, if not required in any other criminal case." The CJP ended the judgement on a Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) on the rights of minorities. Further, Justice Khosa "because of some important legal and factual issues involved in the case" decided to record his separate concurring opinion which stated that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against Asia Bibi beyond a reasonable doubt. “This appeal is, therefore, allowed, the conviction and sentence of the appellant recorded and upheld by the courts below are set aside and she is acquitted of the charge by extending the benefit of doubt to her," he stated. Justice Khosa’s opinion added, "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." "It is ironical that in the Arabic language the appellant’s name Asia means ‘sinful’ but in the circumstances of the present case she appears to be a person, in the words of Shakespeare’s King Leare, “more sinned against than sinning," Justice Khosa's opinion read. On October 8, the top court had reserved its judgment on the appeal of the Christian mother of four, who in 2010 became the first woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy law. Allegations against Bibi The allegations against Bibi date back to June 2009, when she was labouring in a field and a row broke out with some Muslim women who alleged that she committed blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Bibi was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death in 2010, despite her advocates maintaining her innocence and insisting the accusers held grudges against her. Last hearing During the last hearing on October 8, Bibi's lawyer Saiful Mulook had told the bench that the incident took place on June 14, 2009 and its case was registered on June 19. A case was filed against Bibi by an Imam in Katanwala village who alleged that Bibi had confessed to committing blasphemy, the lawyer said. To this, Justice Nisar had asked Bibi’s lawyer, "Are these things on record?" However, Mulook had told the bench that the Imam (prayer leader) himself was not a witness to the incident. “There are also contradictions regarding how the notice of the incident was taken and the complainant has said the decision to register an FIR against Bibi was taken amid a group of people,” he had upheld. Further, Mulook had said, “Permission was not taken from the district coordination officer (DCO) or the district police officer (DPO) to register the FIR." He had added that the Imam in the FIR said that the villagers had not attempted to beat up Bibi. To this, Justice Khosa had remarked, “From your statements we have gathered that the Imam himself did not witness the incident as it happened and no blasphemous words were said in his presence.” Justice Nisar had then added, “As per the prayer leader's statement, a panchayat was held in a house and 1,000 people had gathered for it." “The FIR states that Bibi was a Christian preacher, was she really?” the chief justice asked. Mulook responded in the negative and said, “She was never a preacher.” After hearing the arguments, the top court reserved its judgment on Bibi's appeal. The chief justice had also directed news channels to not discuss the case.<doc-sep>ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the conviction of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, ordering her to be freed if she was not accused of any other crime. Chief Justice Saqib Nisar overturned the conviction by the Lahore High Court that had sentenced Asia Bibi, a mother of four, to death in 2010.Her case has outraged Christians worldwide and been a source of division within Pakistan, where two politicians who sought to help Bibi were assassinated. Complete Supreme Court order:<doc-sep>(CNN) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court has acquitted a Christian woman who has been on death row for almost eight years on blasphemy charges. Asia Bibi, a mother of five from Punjab province, was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sentenced to hang after she was accused of defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed during an argument the year before with Muslim colleagues. The workers had refused to drink from a bucket of water Asia Bibi had touched because she was not Muslim. At the time, Asia Bibi said the case was a matter of women who didn’t like her “taking revenge.” She won her appeal against the conviction and subsequent death sentence on Wednesday. Islamist movement Tehreek-e Labbaik (TLP) had previously vowed to take to the streets if Asia Bibi was released, and protests broke out in Islamabad and Lahore soon after the ruling was announced. Within hours, the protests were large enough that government officials in the cities were urging people to stay inside and avoid adding to the chaos. Demonstrators blocked a motorway in Lahore and a road linking Islamabad and Rawalpindi has been closed off. Angry workers from the TLP have also staged sit-ins and chanted slogans against Pakistan officials and judges. In response, police officials invoked Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which prevents the gathering of more than four people. ARIF ALI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Supporters of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a hardline religious political party chant slogans during a protest against the court decision to overturn the conviction of Christian woman Asia Bibi in Lahore on October 31, 2018. The country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan slammed the protests as a “disgusting response” to the top court’s decision. “You are not aiding Islam by talking about killing judges and by killing our generals who have sacrificed so much for our country,” Khan said in defense of the verdicts. “I am appealing to our people: Do not get caught up by the worlds of these people who only want to increase their vote bank.” In his statement, made Wednesday on Pakistani state-run TV, the PM warned the TLP to halt the protests. “This government will not stand aside and see property and livelihoods being destroyed. Do not force us to take action.” In its ruling, the Supreme Court court quoted Shakespeare’s “King Lear” in its ruling, saying Asia Bibi appeared to have been “more sinned against than sinning.” “Even if there was some grain of truth in the allegations leveled in this case against the appellant still the glaring contradictions in the evidence of the prosecution highlighted above clearly show that the truth in this case had been mixed with a lot which was untrue,” the ruling said. David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA, an organization that lobbies on behalf of Christian minorities, said in a statement that “we are breathing a sigh of relief today.” “These charges stemmed from her Christian identity as well as false accusations against her,” he said. “We are hopeful that Pakistan will now take additional steps to offer religious freedom and basic human rights throughout the country.” Controversial law Under the Pakistan penal code, the offense of blasphemy is punishable by death or life imprisonment. Widely criticized by international human rights groups, the law has been used disproportionately against minority religious groups in the country and to go after journalists critical of the Pakistani religious establishment. Her case has attracted widespread outrage and support from Christians worldwide, and condemnation from conservative Islamist groups in Pakistan, who have demanded the death penalty be carried out and threatened widespread protests in the event of her being freed. The case has been extremely divisive within Pakistani society, splitting liberals and conservatives and leaving even many supporters afraid to speak out on Asia Bibi’s behalf. In 2011, senior politician Salman Taseer was shot dead by his own bodyguard for voicing support for Asia Bibi and condemning the country’s stringent blasphemy laws. His killer, Mumtaz Qadri, immediately surrendered to police and was later executed, becoming a martyr for many hardline Islamists. At his funeral in 2016, thousands converged on the northern city of Rawalpindi as the Pakistani media was blacked out to prevent riots. Leaders of prominent Islamist political parties attended the funeral as supporters of Qadri carried signs in celebration of his “bravery.” Qadri’s grave, in the capital city of Islamabad, has since become a shrine for those supporting Asia Bibi’s death sentence. AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Pakistani paramilitary soldiers stand guard outside the Supreme Court building in Islamabad on October 31, 2018. Polarizing case Amnesty International researcher Rabia Mehmood said that one of the reasons the Asia Bibi case has become so polarizing and controversial is the Pakistani government’s failure to take “effective measures to curb the campaign of hate and violence incited by certain groups in the country following her conviction, in fact the state has shown immense tolerance for the narratives of hate.” She previously highlighted a tweet by a media organization linked to TLP, which last year led to violent anti-blasphemy protests, warning the court to “think carefully before making any decision.” In May this year, Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Ahsan Iqbal, was shot and wounded in his shoulder in an incident police sources linked to the 2017 demonstrations. “We can only hope that (the Asia Bibi case) becomes a watershed moment when it comes to blasphemy laws in Pakistan,” Mehmood said. A verdict in Asia Bibi’s favor, sends “out a message of hope and will be a step in addressing human rights abuses, religiously motivated discrimination and violence targeted at religious minorities and even Muslims who are accused of committing blasphemy.” CNN understands that at least two Western countries have offered Asia Bibi asylum once she has been released. Such a move will likely be greeted by mass protests by Islamist groups, which could turn violent. It will also prove a key test for new Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who courted the country’s religious right during his successful campaign and has voiced support for blasphemy laws. Khan should “take a stance against the intimidation of Tehreek-e-Labbaik, whose leaders have demanded that Khan fulfill his promises to make Pakistan an ‘Islamic state’,” Pakistani journalist Rafia Zakaria wrote for CNN last month. “Instead of snubbing the international community, one that Islamists see as impinging on Pakistan’s move toward a full theocracy, Khan could emphasize the need to embrace it and to work with it. In other words, Khan could choose to stand with the innocent woman instead of the rabid and bloodthirsty extremists.” Religious battle Outside of Pakistan, Asia Bibi’s case has become a rallying call for many Christians, particularly Catholics. Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) led prayers for Asia Bibi’s release last week in the UK, at a ceremony attended by her husband Ashiq Masih and daughter, Eisham Ashiq. “We have prayed 10 years now for our sister, Asia, and I am confident that our prayers will be heard, and the judgment will go in favor of Asia, her family and the entire Pakistani Christian community,” Father Emmanuel Yousaf said in a statement from the group. The family met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in February, during which the Catholic leader reportedly described Asia Bibi as a “martyr,” according to ACN President Alessandro Mondeduro. Francis’ predecessor, Pope Benedict, previously called for Asia Bibi’s release. In her 2012 book “Get Me Out of Here,” Asia Bibi included a letter to her family urging them not to “lose courage or faith in Jesus Christ.” Sophia Saifi reported from Pakistan. James Griffiths reported from Hong Kong.<doc-sep>
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted a Christian woman who had been on death row for eight years after being accused of blasphemy. Mother-of-three Asia Bibi, 47, was convicted in November 2010 after being accused of defaming Prophet Muhammad. Three women said they had refused to drink from a bucket she had touched because she was not Muslim. The acquittal has infuriated hardliners, with the leader of the Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party calling for Prime Minister Imran Khan's government to be ousted. Image: Pakistani protesters calling for the hanging of Asia Bibi Hundreds of Islamists have blocked a key road in Islamabad and others have gathered in Karachi, in the northwestern city of Peshawar and elsewhere. Ms Bibi is being held at an undisclosed location for security reasons and is expected to leave the country. She was arrested after three women went to a local cleric in Sheikhupura, a city in Punjab, to report her. The trial court found her guilty and sentenced her to death. Image: The long-running case drew supporters and protesters from the outset She appealed to the Lahore High Court, which upheld the decision in October 2014, with the case ending up at the Supreme Court. Reading out the verdict on Wednesday, chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar said: "The judgement of the high court and that of the trial court is reversed. "Her conviction is set aside and she is to be relieved forthwith if not required in other charges." Image: The verdict will prove unpopular among many in conservative Pakistan His announcement is a victory for human rights activists, who say religious minorities in Pakistan are routinely targeted and baseless allegations of blasphemy levelled against them to settle personal vendettas. The Vatican had also appealed and called for the release of Ms Bibi, and Pope Francis met with her husband, Ashiq Masih, and daughter earlier this year. Mr Masih said: "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," Image: Demonstrators line the streets in Lahore calling for the hanging of Ms Bibi The blasphemy law in Pakistan carries a mandatory death penalty and many hardline religious groups are opposed to it being amended. The acquittal prompted the TLP to call for the death of the judges who ordered her freedom. TLP spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi said: "The patron in chief of TLP, Muhammad Afzal Qadri, has issued the edict that says the chief justice and all those who ordered the release of Asia deserve death." Earlier this month, the TLP leader had threatened to "paralyse the country within hours" if the court set Ms Bibi free. Anticipating trouble over the verdict, security forces have been put on high alert. Extra forces have been deployed in sensitive areas, such as diplomatic enclaves, and hundreds of police and para-military personnel are guarding the Supreme Court. Those accused of blasphemy are incarcerated immediately, denied bail in most cases and put in solitary confinement. More than 1,300 people have been charged in the last 30 years and many of them have been murdered before their trial is even complete. It has been a case of high-tension from the outset, with Salman Taseer, a Punjabi governor who supported Ms Bibi, shot by his own bodyguard in Islamabad in 2011. His assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, was tried and executed for murder in 2016. Many in conservative Pakistan hailed him as a martyr - he was showered with rose petals whenever he was brought to court and now has a mausoleum in the capital visited by hundreds of people every week. A detailed judgement in Ms Bibi's case is expected later.