Asia's crime was to offer
water to two women who were picking berries with her at a farm. The two
women told Asia they would not drink water from her because she was
ceremonially unclean as she was a Christian, and then demanded that Asia
convert to Islam. Asia refused and reaffirmed her faith in Christ. Five
days later, a local cleric went to the police and accused Asia of
blasphemy.
(Pakistan)—[ACLJ] Asia Bibi, Pakistani Christian and mother of five, is on death row. Pakistan's Supreme Court is set to hear the final appeal of her case in just two days; Thursday, October 13th.
Today, we delivered an emergency letter in support of Asia to
Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States. Our letter requests that he
do everything in his power to advocate for Asia's freedom, and for "the
protection of the rights and religious freedoms of all Pakistani
citizens." (Photo: Asia Bibi with two of her daughters/via Gatestone Institute)
Asia
has been death row for her Christian faith for 2,164 days—nearly six
years. She was accused and convicted of blaspheming the prophet
Muhammad's name. Under Pakistani law, blasphemy is punishable by
death, and Asia was sentenced to death by hanging. Her only "crime,"
however, was publicly affirming her faith in Jesus Christ.
Asia was arrested back in 2009, after an argument occurred between her and her co-workers. As we informed the Ambassador:
Asia, who was picking berries, took a break from her work to get a
drink of water and offered some water to the other women working with
her. Her co-workers informed Asia that they could not drink water from
the hands of a Christian woman, because, by handling it, she had made
the water haram. Asia's co-workers then demanded that she convert to
Islam to be cleansed of her impurity. Asia refused and instead
publically affirmed her faith in Jesus Christ.
We've reported before how events then escalated, leading to Asia's
arrest five days later. Asia's subsequent trial was full of errors, and
in November 2010, Asia was sentenced to death. Asia appealed her
conviction to the Lahore High Court, which—four years later, in October
2014—upheld her conviction. Now, Pakistan's Supreme Court is about to
hear Asia's final appeal.
Our letter to the Pakistani Ambassador discusses Asia's case and
addresses key aspects of Pakistani law, as well as its obligations under
international law.
Pakistan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR). It also voted in favor of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which states: "[e]veryone has the
right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right
includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either
alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest
his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
According
to the ICCPR, "[e]veryone shall have the right to hold opinions without
interference," and "[e]veryone shall have the right to freedom of
expression." Freedom of expression includes the "freedom to seek,
receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds." Pakistan's
blasphemy laws violate these principles. The ICCPR also limits the death
penalty for the most serious of crimes. Our letter emphasizes that
neither the death penalty nor life imprisonment is by any standard
proportional punishment to the "crime" of blasphemy. (Photo: Asia Bibi's
daughters hold a photo of their mom/via ACLJ.org)
While the Supreme Court hearing Asia's appeal is a positive
development in her case, it does not guarantee that Asia's conviction
will be overturned. By becoming a party to the ICCPR Pakistan has
voluntarily undertaken the obligation to ensure that religious freedom
is guaranteed to all its citizens. Pakistan needs to honor its
international legal obligations and release Asia Bibi.
In addition to this letter to Pakistan's Ambassador to the U.S., we
are also sending similar emergency legal letters to Pakistan's
Ambassador to the U.N., and the U.N. itself.
You can join with over 475,000 people from around the world who are also advocating for Asia's freedom by signing our petition.
As we continue to aggressively advocate for this Christian mom, Asia
Bibi, across the globe, our team on the ground in Pakistan will be
attending the Supreme Court hearing. We will keep you updated as the
fight for her freedom progresses. Please sign the petition and earnestly pray.
Source: www.breakingchristiannews.com/