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Islamabad / ViennaFor the past nine years, Asia Bibi, now 51, has been sentenced to death in a prison in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. In 2010, the Christian was sentenced to death for blasphemy. During her fieldwork, she insulted the Prophet Muhammad, said other women who had worked with her. The village preacher intervened, the mother of five children was accused of blasphemy and sentenced to death. A judgment annulled last week by the Supreme Court. Three judges released Asia Bibi from all allegations.
But instead of freeing herself, the woman must fear for her life. The head of the radical Islamist group Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, an Islamist preacher, openly called for the lynching of the Christian woman. Saif-ul-Malook, his lawyer, was threatened with death in the Netherlands. The three chief justices were also threatened.
The husband of Asia Bibi, Ashiq Masih, and their daughters have been living in constant fear for their lives since 2010. He asks the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada to help his wife and his family to escape from Pakistan and grant them asylum. "We are nowhere safe," said her husband during an interview with Deutsche Welle. He and the girls have constantly changed locations for security reasons. He also feared that his wife would be attacked in prison.
Questionable case
Three days in a row, serious unrest took place in several cities in Pakistan, but mainly in Islamabad. Schools and authorities remained closed. There were roadblocks and looting. The situation has worsened. In some areas, soldiers had to protect the government buildings from looters. Police arrested hundreds of demonstrators for violence and vandalism at demonstrations under the direction of the Home Office. According to local media, more than 1,100 people were arrested in Punjab province.
To end the raging crowd, the Pakistani government negotiated an agreement with the Islamists late Friday night. It is only with this agreement that "the situation will be resolved without violence", the Minister of the Interior, Fawad Chaudry, defended the pact with the radicals. The entire government has been blackmailed, according to Pakistani human rights activists. The government has accepted a judicial review of the acquittal. Moreover, Asia Bibi must not leave the country – she should always be in prison. Impunity was promised to arrested protesters.
Blasphemy is considered a capital crime in Islamic Pakistan. In practice, this includes statements and contemptuous actions against Islam, the Koran and the Prophet Muhammad. Asia Bibi is the first Catholic woman accused of blasphemy in 2009. (Zoe)
("Die Presse", printed edition, 06.11.2018)
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