By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post.
Protesters demand release of Asia Bibi, in Lahore, Pakistan, November 21, 2010. (PHOTO: MOHSIN RAZA)
Christian mother of five children, Asia Bibi had her death sentence temporarily suspended by Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday, as an appeals case against her conviction of blasphemy begins.
“The execution of Asia Bibi has been suspended and will remain suspended until the decision of this appeal,” lawyer Saif-ul-Malook said, according to Reuters.
Bibi, who has been held in prison for six years now, was originally sentenced to death in 2010 for offending the Islamic faith. She had been accused by a group of Muslim women to have committed an act of blasphemy when she drank from the same water supply as them.
Asia Bibi (Courtesy: British Pakistani Christian Association)
The women said in their charge that Bibi asked “My Christ died for me, what did Muhammad do for you?” — a statement considered blasphemous in the South Asian country.
The 50-year-old mother was granted an appeal hearing earlier this month, which reports say is her last chance to escape the death penalty.
Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law has been used to punish religious minorities such as Christians, human rights groups have said. Changes have been proposed to the blasphemy system, though none so far have been implemented.