ICC Note:

Release International has questioned the Pakistani Supreme Court’s decision to delay the final appeal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death under the country’s notorious blasphemy laws. On October 13, the Supreme Court decided to adjourn the appeal because one of the three justices hearing the case decided to recuse himself. Bibi has been on death row since a sessions court found her guilty of committing blasphemy in 2010. Her case has become a lightening rod in Pakistan with Bibi’s defenders facing assassination and constant threats.

10/21/2016 Pakistan (Church Times) – The charity Release International has questioned the decision of the Supreme Court in Pakistan to adjourn the final appeal of a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who has been on death row since 2009, accused of blasphemy.

Mrs. Bibi, a farm laborer, was the first woman to be sentenced to death for blasphemy against the prophet Muhammad — which she denies — after an argument with her Muslim co-workers (News, 19 November 2010). The laborers reportedly refused to drink the water she had brought for them because they considered her, as a Christian, to be unclean.

The Supreme Court was due to hear her final appeal this month (News, 30 September). But one of the judges stepped down last week, citing a possible conflict of interest. A new date for the hearing has not yet been set.

Judge Iqbal Hameed ur Rehman reportedly told the court that he had been involved in the case of Salmaan Taseer, a liberal governor of Punjab province, who was murdered by his bodyguard in Islamabad in 2011 after publicly supporting Mrs. Bibi (Comment, Press, 14 January 2011).

“It seems strange to pull out on the day of the appeal,” the chief executive of Release International, Paul Robinson, said. “Surely any potential conflict of interest would have been known in advance?” The charity, which is pressing for Mrs. Bibi’s acquittal, has condemned Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which, it says, have resulted in the death of 60 people since 1990.

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