The President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari on Monday granted an official pardon to the first woman, Asia Bibi, to be sentenced to death under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law.
Bibi has been languishing in prison for the last 18 months but released shortly after the pardon was made official.
“This is the only acceptable outcome to what has been a travesty of justice from the outset,” said Nasir Saeed, coordinator for U.K.-based Center for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS). “Asia Bibi should never have been charged with blasphemy, let alone found guilty and sentenced to death.”
Saeed added, “The ordeal faced by her and her family is unimaginable to most people outside of Pakistan who are largely unaware of the abuse and discrimination faced by the tiny Christian minority there.”
As has already been reported, Bibi was accused of blasphemy against the Muslim Prophet Muhammad by women in her village after she fell into an argument with them. Bibi had been picking fruit with the women and went to fetch water for the group, yet upon returning, the Muslim women refused to drink out of the container because it had been touched by a Christian. They argued and a few days later Bib was dragged from her home, beaten and accused of blaspheming against Islam.
Pakistan’s blasphemy law has become infamous for being used to settle grudges against religious minorities, although this is the first time a woman was sentenced to death under it.
"The blasphemy laws smack in the face of democracy and human rights and only reinforce the notion that Christians and other religious minorities in the country are somehow inferior and less human,” said Saeed of CLAAS in the U.K.
“We are relieved and overjoyed at Asia Bibi’s release but so long as the blasphemy laws remain in place there is no telling when another innocent Christian will face being executed because of something they said.”