Pakistani Christian Mom Spends Fifth Christmas on Death Row
Asia Bibi, a 46-year-old Christian mother of five, spent her fifth consecutive Christmas on death row in Pakistan due to a conviction for "blaspheming" the prophet Mohammed.
She is one of at least 17 Pakistanis on death row after being convicted under the country's blasphemy laws, and at least 20 more are serving life sentences for the same offense.
"Asia has been abandoned, her plight mostly forgotten or ignored," said Patrick Sookhdeo, international director of the Barnabas Fund, which works among minority Christians in Islamic nations.
Back in the summer of 2009, Asia was among a group of agricultural workers taking a drink from a communal well during a rest break.
When Asia, the only non-Muslim in the group, dipped her cup in the well, co-workers accused her of defiling the water because she is a Christian.
Asia replied, "I don't believe Mohammed would share the same view as you," according to CNS News.
According to other reports, the Muslim women claimed Bibi said: "I believe in my religion and in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of mankind. What did your prophet Mohammed ever do to save mankind?"
She was arrested for insulting Mohammed, convicted, and in November 2010 was sentenced to death by hanging.
"Although it is widely recognized that Asia, a simple and uneducated woman, did not blaspheme against Mohammed, she remains languishing on death row," Sookhdeo said.
Her husband and children have been forced to go into hiding for fear of retribution by radical Islamists.
Two officials who championed her case, the liberal governor of Punjab province and a federal cabinet minister, were both assassinated three years ago.
Asia's appeal is not expected to be heard until at least 2015. Meanwhile, a radical cleric has offered a reward for her murder.
French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet, who has followed Bibi's case closely, said recently: "I'm afraid she'll be killed very soon if nothing happens."
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