Pakistan: Christian Mother Files Final Appeal
By Joseph DeCaro
ISLAMABAD (Worthy News)– A Christian mother of five who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan has filed an appeal to the country’s top court, according to Barnabas Aid.
After the High Court in Lahore upheld Aasia Bibi’s conviction in October, the appeal represents her last chance for justice in Pakistan’s prejudicial judicial system.
Bibi’s lawyer, Saiful Malook, has asked the court to reconsider his client’s case on charges of evidence tampering and the long delay between the time of the incident and the filing of the First Information Report.
Bibi was arrested in June 2009. She has been on death row since 2010 after being falsely accused of insulting the prophet Mohammed while working with Muslim women.
Of the 17 people currently on death row for blasphemy, five are Christians.
Last week, Bibi’s husband wrote an open letter to the president of Pakistan requesting a presidential pardon and permission to move to France where the family has been offered sanctuary.
Although no one has been executed for blasphemy in Pakistan, vigilante violence is often the fate for anyone even accused of this crime.