ICC Note:
Christian woman, Asia Bibi, continues to sit on death row awaiting an appeal to the Supreme Court to decide whether or not she should be hung for allegedly committing blasphemy in Pakistan. It has been 6 years since Bibi was accused by Muslim co-workers of committing blasphemy after an altercation stated when the Muslims took exception to Bibi drinking from the same water bowl. According to a network of churches in Pakistan, the conditions Bibi has lived in since being convicted of blasphemy in 2010 have been terrible. The network went as far to say that Bibi was living in a “hell hole”.
10/6/2015 Pakistan (Mission Network News) – Friends of the ALIVE network of churches (supported by Open Doors) in Pakistan have done research into the circumstances in which Christian mother Aasiya (Asia) Bibi is being held in prison. This is the first of a 2-part update. The second story will run Tuesday, Oct. 6.
What if you were imprisoned:
• With 42 murderers, 30 drug addicts, 21 robbers, 12 kidnappers, and other criminals in your block.
• And you spent your days in solitary confinement far away from your husband and children.
• Only because you expressed your faith in Jesus?
Such is life for Asia Bibi in Pakistan. In 2009, Muslim women tried to chase her away from a well because–as a Christian–she “polluted the water.” Asia responded by saying that Jesus had rescued her and then added: “What has your prophet done for you?”
Fast forward 6 years, and Asia is the most famous Pakistani prisoner. She is currently the only woman on death row.
People close to the case have told OPEN DOORS’ partner ministry ALIVE about the conditions of inmates in the Multan Jail. The women’s block in Multan is a single-story building and does not have any system of cross ventilation. There are sets of two beds placed on one another in a vertical manner to double the capacity. There are a total of 6 unhygienic toilets which are, in the words of a former prisoner, “not sufficient for the number of inmates.”
The prison block has capacity for only 30-40 prisoners; however, around 150 inmates are being held. Of these, several spend their days in solitary confinement.
“Multan’s summers are extremely hot,” the former prisoner says. “Combine this with overcrowding, poor sanitation, heating, lighting, and ventilation in the jail, and you realize the hell hole where Asia’s single cell is located.”
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