They absolve the Asian Christian Bibi and cancel the death penalty

Islamabad.- The Supreme Court of Pakistan he absolved today the Christian Asia Bibi, tried for blasphemy and annulled the death sentence that had been imposed on him under the charge of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in 2009, amid threats of Islamist groups who asked for his execution.

"The death penalty is canceled. Asia Bibi is acquitted of charges, "said the president of the Supreme Court, Saqib Nisar, when reading the sentence of the call in a room with the presence of unarmed commandos of the military forces.

Nisar, in a three-judge court, said that if there were no other charges against the Christian, "she could be released."

The announcement of the conviction took place between strong security measures involving members of the riot police and bomb deactivation specialists at the entrance to the headquarters of the highest court.

Inside the hall, unarmed anti-terrorist corps commandos have been deployed to maintain security.

Bibi, a mother of five, was reported in 2009 by women who claimed to have insulted Islam during a discussion at a water point in Punjab (east) and was sentenced to death in 2010 for blasphemy.

The Christian lost the appeal to the High Court of Lahore, capital of Punjab, in 2014 and in 2015, the Supreme Court suspended execution after agreeing to consider her appeal, which the first hearing, scheduled for 2016, has been postponed following the judges' challenge.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan considered the appeal of the death sentence handed down in Asia on October 8 and reserved the verdict, noting that the witnesses' statements contained contradictions.

The radical political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) threatened that day with "dangerous consequences" for the judges if Asia Bibi was declared innocent.

A few days later, thousands of Islamists demanded their execution in various Pakistani cities.

Bibi's case provoked an international scandal, but in Pakistan he became a cause for Islamist groups and parties and led to at least two killings.

One of them, the former Punjab governor, Salman Tasir, was killed in 2011 for publicly defending Bibi's cause by one of his bodyguards, Mumtaz. Qadri, who was executed in turn in 2016, and buried as a hero. .

The second was that of a Christian minority minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, shot dead at his home in 2011 for defending Bibi and opposing anti-blasphemy legislation.

The harsh Pakistani blasphemy law was introduced in the British colonial era to prevent religious clashes, but in the 1980s several reforms supported by dictator Zia-ul-Haq favored an abuse of that power. rule.

Since then, a thousand charges have been brought for blasphemy, a crime punishable by capital punishment in Pakistan, although no one has ever been executed for this crime.