A Pakistani
Christian woman has been sentenced to hang after she was accused of
making 'blasphemous' comments about the prophet Mohammed during an
argument.
While
working as a berry picker in 2009, 46-year-old Asia Bibi got into a
dispute with a group of Muslim women who objected to her drinking their
water because as a Christian she was considered 'unclean'.
Hours
after the incident one of the women reported mother-of-five Ms Bibi to a
local cleric, claiming she had made disparaging remarks about the
prophet Mohammed during the row.
As a result of the allegations, a furious mob arrived at Ms Bibi's home and savagely beat her and members of her family.
She
was later arrested, charged with blasphemy and eventually sentenced to
death - with her entire family forced to go into hiding after receiving
threats on their lives.
This
week, despite international outrage and hundreds of thousands of people
signing a petition for her release, Ms Bibi lost an appeal to have her
sentence overturned, meaning she now faces death by hanging.
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| Daughters |
The
shocking case hit global headlines after two prominent politicians who
tried to help Ms Bibi were assassinated, one by his own bodyguard.
Lawyers
showered the killer with rose petals when he appeared in court and the
judge who convicted him of murder had to flee the country.
Ms Bibi's lawyer, Naeem Shakir, said her accusers have contradicted themselves many times since first raising their complaint.
Two witnesses allegedly involved in the incident did not appear in court, he said.
A
Muslim prayer leader did appear, saying he did not witness the original
altercation, but that Ms Bibi had confessed to the supposed crime in
front of him.
Speaking of
Ms Bibi's failed appeal against her death sentence, Mr Shakir said: 'I
was expecting the opposite decision. We will file an appeal to the
Supreme Court of Pakistan in a few days.'
But Gulam Mustafa, the lawyer for the complainant, said the court's decision was correct.
'Asia's lawyer tried to prove that the case was registered on a personal enmity but he failed to prove that,' he said.
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| Protest for her release |
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