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ccchhhrrriiisss
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Joined: 2003/11/23
Posts: 4779


 Christian woman sentenced to death in Pakistan

Please remember this dear woman in prayer. - Chris

Quote:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101111/
wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestreligionchristian_20101111144507



Christian woman sentenced to death in Pakistan
AFP Staff
11 November 2010

LAHORE, Pakistan (AFP) – A Pakistani court has sentenced to death a Christian mother of five for blasphemy, the first such conviction of a woman and sparking protests from rights groups Thursday.

Asia Bibi, 45, was sentenced Monday by a local court in Nankana district in Pakistan's central province Punjab, about 75 kilometres (47 miles) west of the country's cultural capital of Lahore.

Pakistan has yet to execute anyone for blasphemy, but the case spotlights the Muslim country's controversial laws on the subject which rights activists say encourages Islamist extremism in a nation wracked by Taliban attacks.

Bibi's case dates back to June 2009 when she was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields. But a group of Muslim women labourers objected, saying that as a non-Muslim, she should not touch the water bowl.

A few days later the women went to a local cleric and alleged that Asia made made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed. The cleric went to local police, who opened an investigation.

She was arrested in Ittanwalai village and prosecuted under Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carries the death penalty.

Sentencing her to hang, Judge Naveed Iqbal "totally ruled out" any chance that Asia was falsely implicated and said there were "no mitigating circumstances", according to a copy of the verdict seen by AFP.

Husband Ashiq Masih, 51, told AFP that he would appeal her death sentence, which needs to be upheld by the Lahore high court, the highest court in Punjab, before it can be carried out.

"The case is baseless and we will file an appeal," he said.
The couple have two sons and three daughters.

Rights activists and minority pressure groups said it was the first time that a woman had been sentenced to hang in Pakistan for blasphemy, although a Muslim couple were jailed for life last year.

Human rights activists want the controversial legislation repealed, saying it is exploited for personal enmity and encourages Islamist extremism.

"The blasphemy law is absolutely obscene and it needs to be repealed in totality," Human Rights Watch spokesman Ali Dayan Hasan told AFP.

"It is primarily used against vulnerable groups that face social and political discrimination. Heading that category are religious minorities and heterodox Muslim sects," he said.

Around three percent of Pakistan's population of 167 million is estimated to be non-Muslim.

Last July, two Christian brothers accused of writing a blasphemous pamphlet critical of the Prophet Mohammed were shot dead outside a court in Punjab.

Pastor Rashid Emmanuel, 32, and his brother Sajjad, were killed as they left a court hearing in Faisalabad city, where hundreds of Muslim protesters had demanded they be sentenced to death.
Quote:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101111
/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestreligionchristian_20101111144507


_________________
Christopher

 2010/11/11 11:34Profile









 Re: Christian woman sentenced to death in Pakistan

Quote:

1 Peter 4:12-14

12. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

13. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.



When I read stories like this, the Lord brings to my mind these verses. It is at times like these that these verses become real and the rubber really hits the road. May the Holy Spirit grant our sister and her husband, and all the saints suffering in every place, the ability to hold fast their profession of faith in these crucial times.

May he also grant me the ability by His Holy Spirit to stand for Him when my time comes to be persecuted for His name, knowing that to be a partaker of the suffering of the Lord is a most blessed thing.

 2010/11/11 12:16
earle777
Member



Joined: 2010/10/13
Posts: 33


 Re:

God help us to mourn with them that mourn.

Mat 5:4 Blessed [are] they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Mat 5:5 Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

 2010/11/11 13:21Profile
earle777
Member



Joined: 2010/10/13
Posts: 33


 Re:

thanks for these updates on SI. they should ever be beofre us

 2010/11/11 13:25Profile





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