[ad_1]
The Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed the appeal against the acquittal for blasphemy of Christian Asia Bibi, and cleared the way so that he can leave the country, to put period to years of judicial battle of international resonance.
Bibi, a farm worker in her fifties, mother of five, was sentenced to death in 2010 for blasphemy, after a discussion on a glbad of water with Muslim neighbors from his village.
Saif-ul-Mulook, the lawyer of Asia Bibi. / AFP
What happened today? We tell you the most important news of the day and what will happen tomorrow when you get up
Monday to Friday afternoon.
The Supreme Court, which acquitted her on October 31, 2018, opposed on Tuesday the opening of an appeal against this decision, claimed by Qari Saalam, imam of the city where Asia Bibi had been accused of blasphemy.
"This resource was rejected", Said Judge Asif Saeed Khosa at the end of the hearing.
Nothing prevents now that Asia Bibi can leave this very conservative Muslim country, where she lives under a very strong protection since is considered a goal by religious extremists.
Qari Saalam, imam of the city where Asia Bibi was accused of blasphemy. / AFP
France has declared itself ready to welcome the Christianand the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau In November, he told AFP that his country was "in discussion" with Islamabad about it.
Since his release on 8 November from Multan Prison (center), Asia Bibi lives in a safe place in Pakistanaccording to the authorities on several occasions.
Asia Bibi, while in prison. / AP
The absolution of the Christian caused Mbadive demonstrations of Islam, who asked for his death in the gallows.
The Islamists demanding their execution went out and blocked the main roads of the country for three days.
The Pakistani government then committed to launch a procedure to prevent Asia Bibi from leaving the countryand not block an application for a review of the trial that should be considered by the Supreme Court.
This agreement has been widely criticized by many Pakistanisfurious that the state has yielded to the extremists.
However, in late November, hundreds of supporters of the Islamic Tehreek-e-LabaikPakistan (TLP) party, which caused the blockade in the country, were arrested. Khadim Hussain Rizvi, TLP leader, charged with rebellion and terrorism According to the executive, he can therefore be sentenced to life imprisonment.
"We will never accept an opinion against the Qur'an", had warned the BPD on Tuesday before the announcement of the sentence, in a statement that promises "a move that will be seen by all" when it is enacted a decision favorable to "blasphemy".
One of the daughters of Asia Bibi./ AP
A case of global resonance
Bibi's case had a planetary resonance, and attracted the attention of Popes Benedict XVI and Francisco, who met one of his daughters.
Asia Bibi was born in 1971 and was, along with her family, the only Catholic of the Ittan Wali village, located in the Punjab region. As she belonged to a religious minority, she was confined to housework, and her colleagues and neighbors they always urged her to convert to Islam.
Ashiq Masih, the husband of Asia Bibi. / AFP
The incident that culminated in jail occurred in June 2009. Bibi, who worked in a field, was asked to bring water. The woman obeys but on the way back He used a steel container to take a little. A neighbor of the family, who had problems with her, saw her and started to insult her, baderting that she could not take the same place as Muslims because she was unclean. After this woman insulted her religion, Bibi confirmed her attachment to Catholicism, which sparked a lively discussion.
Five days after the incident, the neighbor again blamed Bibi, and he accused her of insulting Islam. After being beaten by residents of the city, the local imam told her that she could redeem herself if she agreed to convert to Islam, which she refused. The situation continued to worsen and at one point she was arrested by police for breaking the blasphemy law. Throughout the process that followed, Bibi continued to refuse to give up her Christian faith.
This case also divides Pakistan where blasphemy is a very sensitive issue and where simple accusations are enough to provoke bloody lynchings. Including two renowned politicians who opposed the execution of Bibi (the Punjab Governor, Salman Taseer, and the Minister of Minorities of the National Government, Shahbaz Bhatti), they were killed by activists who asked for Bibi's death.
Supporters of Pakistan's Minority Minister Christian Shahbaz Bhatti protest against his badbadination in Pakistan in March 2011. / EFE
Human rights defenders see Asia Bibi as the symbol of the excesses of the law who represses blasphemy in Pakistan, often used according to his detractors for personal adjustments.
Almost half a cent people accused of blasphemy are currently sentenced to death in Pakistan, according to an estimate of the International Commission for Religious Freedom of the United States dating from 2018.
Source: AFP
.
[ad_2]
Source link