Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Cazul de blasfemie Asia Bibi" in Romanian language version.
In Pakistan, 17 people are on death row for blasphemy, and dozens more have been extrajudicially murdered.
As a result, in Lahore, Church authorities ordered the indefinite closure of Christian schools and asked parents to come and take their children home. Likewise, “Schools will remain closed till further notice," said a sign at St Peter’s High School, which is run by the Diocese of Raiwind of the Church of Pakistan.
Chief Justice Saqib Nisar read out the ruling saying she was free to go, if not wanted in connection with any other case.
In their final judgment, reviewed by CT, reversing Bibi’s convictions by two lower courts and removing her death sentence, the panel of three judges ruled that Bibi was "wrongly" accused by two sisters with the help of a local cleric, based on "material contradictions and inconsistent statements of the witnesses" that "cast a shadow of doubt on the prosecution’s version of facts." "Furthermore, the alleged extra-judicial confession was not voluntary but rather resulted out of coercion and undue pressure as the appellant was forcibly brought before the complainant in presence of a gathering, who were threatening to kill her; as such, it cannot be made the basis of a conviction,” they wrote. “Therefore, the appellant being innocent deserves acquittal," the judges concluded. One even accused Bibi’s accusers of violating a covenant made by Muhammad with Christians in the seventh century but still valid today. "Blasphemy is a serious offense," wrote justice Asif Saeed Khosa, "but the insult of the appellant’s religion and religious sensibilities by the complainant party and then mixing truth with falsehood in the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was also not short of being blasphemous.
In Pakistan, blasphemy (insulting Islam or its prophet Muhammad) is a crime punishable by life imprisonment or death. The law is often abused by Muslims looking to settle scores with religious minorities. Bibi has denied the accusations. In response to the court's announcement that a three-judge panel reversed earlier court rulings against Bibi on grounds that evidence against her was insufficient, TLP supporters have reportedly staged street protests and have also blockaded major roadways.
Two prominent politicians, governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer and minority affairs minister Shahbaz Bhatti, were assassinated in 2011 after defending Bibi. Her lawyer, Saiful Malook, is a Muslim who claims that Pakistani officials have been influenced by religious hardliners. He has also been targeted by Islamic fundamentalists.
Commuters advised to avoid motorways and national highways
The National Highways and Motorway Police has advised commuters to "refrain from travelling on motorways and national highways" on account of "the law & order situation across the country".
Islamists launched protests after the country's Supreme Court ruled to acquit Bibi of blasphemy in a widely publicized case.
A release order arrived Wednesday at the prison in the central city of Multan, where Bibi was detained, a prison official told AFP.
Since that day in 2009, she has been in prison, in solitary confinement, in a 2.4 by 3m cell without a window. Bibi can’t mix with other prisoners for fear that she’ll be killed, which is often the fate of those accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.
Il faut lui accorder l'asile, à elle et à sa famille. MLP #AsiaBibi
Under the terms of the deal made on Friday night, prime minister Imran Khan’s administration said it would begin legal proceedings to place Asia Bibi on the “exit control list” (ECL). ... “I am not surprised that Imran Khan’s regime has caved in to extremists,” said Wilson Chowdhry, chair of the British Pakistani Christian Association.
Pakistan suspended mobile phone networks in major cities on Friday, and many schools were shut down as Islamist groups protested for the third day.
The question of drinking order is a vestige of the Hindu caste system that has lingered in the area even after most of the population converted to Islam over a hundred years ago. Christians, believed to be converts from Dalits, continue to be treated as untouchables in parts of Pakistan. For high Brahmans, using the same utensils as someone from a lower caste represented contamination or impurity. It seems the women in the field with Asia Bibi on that ill-fated June day believed this as well.
Dear Citizens, Keeping in view the law & order situation across the country, please refrain from travelling on Motorways and National Highways. For updated information regarding travel advisory please visit http://nhmp.gov.pk/TravelAdvisory.html … … … Stay tuned for more updates.".
Radical Islamists mounted rallies against the verdict, blocking roads and burning tyres in protest as they demanded she be executed.
Bibi’s alleged blasphemous comments were supposedly made after co-workers refused to share water that she had carried; they said it was unclean because she was a Christian (this is a hangover from the caste system, as most of those who converted to Christianity in pre-partition India were members of the lower castes).
Christian farm labourer Bibi, a 47-year-old mother of five, was sentenced to hang for blasphemy in 2010. She had angered fellow Muslim farm workers by taking a sip of water from a cup she had fetched for them on a hot day. When they demanded she convert to Islam, she refused, prompting a mob to later allege that she had insulted the prophet Mohammed.
Justice Asif Khosa, in a verdict widely praised for its courage and rigour, noted that the two sisters who accused Bibi “had no regard for the truth” and that the claim she smeared the prophet in public was “concoction incarnate”.
In February, Pope Francis met Ashiq at the Vatican, and Pakistan’s small Christian minority held fasts and prayer sessions before the verdict.
Maulana Yousaf Qureshi, the Khateeb of the historic Masjid Mohabaat Khan in Peshawar, offered a Rs500,000 reward for anyone who kills Aasia, Online news agency reported.
Dear Citizens, Keeping in view the law & order situation across the country, please refrain from travelling on Motorways and National Highways. For updated information regarding travel advisory please visit http://nhmp.gov.pk/TravelAdvisory.html … … … Stay tuned for more updates.".
A female commando who is part of a team of police and paramilitary troops deployed to protect Bibi, told The Associated Press that Bibi was reading a Bible when the news about her acquittal was conveyed to her.
A release order arrived Wednesday at the prison in the central city of Multan, where Bibi was detained, a prison official told AFP.
