ICC Note:
The final Supreme Court hearing for Asia Bibi, a Christian woman in Pakistan sentenced to death for allegedly committing blasphemy, has been requested to take place in the first week of June. News broke when her lawyer, Saiful Malook announced he had petition the court for the new date. Bibi’s case remains one of the most controversial blasphemy cases in the world. Many claim is it the best example of how blasphemy laws can be abused. Will the Supreme Court set a new hearing date or will Bibi be forced to continue to wait in prison?
04/20/2017 Pakistan (Asia News) – Asia Bibi, the Christian mother condemned to death by hanging for alleged blasphemy, could return to trial shortly, perhaps in the first week of June, according to Saiful Malook, the woman’s lawyer. He reports that, “the request to reopen the hearing was submitted to the President of the Supreme Court of Pakistan last week. The case continues to be postponed due to the problems of this country. We are in the midst of a continuing war between Islam and Kufr (infidels). But our hopes for her release are many.”
The lawyer spoke of the reopening of the case before the Supreme Court judges during a television broadcast. Together with other guests, he discussed the abuse of laws punishing offenses against the prophet Muhammad and the climate of intolerance in society.
Last October 2016, judges of the Supreme Court postponed the trial against Asia Bibi to a date to be determined. The court, consisting of three judges and led by Mian Saqib Nisar, decided to postpone the final hearing after one of the magistrates – Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman – retired from the case, claiming he was also a member of the court that decided on the trial of Salmaan Taseer,, the late governor of Punjab province.
The spotlight returned to Asia this week after fierce statements by some prominent imams demanding her execution as “deterrent” for the violence that led to Mashal Khan’s lynching. The Mardan University student was killed, denuded, and tortured for allegedly glorifying the Ahmadi faith.
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