The Supreme Court of Pakistan confirms the acquittal of Asia Bibi: she could go to Canada

@ElentirENG ES 1·29·2019 · 20:00 0

The Supreme Court of Pakistan rejected today the appeal against her acquittal, which was published on November 7, and confirmed the innocence of this Christian mother.

Asia Bibi has been released!
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Asia Bibi has been in prison since 2009 and was sentenced to death in 2010 on a false accusation of blasphemy, formulated by the mere fact of having drunk water from the same source as some Muslim women. After the acquittal in November, this Pakistani Christian mother was released from the prison in which she was confined, but was sheltered in a safe and secret place in Islamabad by the Pakistani authorities in the face of violent protests and death threats against her by Islamist groups.

The Court confirms that Asia Bibi was convicted by "false evidence"

According to Vatican News, in the review of the appeal against her acquittal, presented by Muhammad Salam - an Islamic cleric of Lahore - the Supreme Court president, Asif Saeed Khosa, stated that "this petition is dismissed", noting that there was no error in the acquittal issued almost three months ago. Khosa sharply criticized attempts to overturn the sentence and said that Asia Bibi had been sentenced to death through false evidence. "You think we give the death sentence to someone on the basis of false evidence?", the president of the Court asked to the authors of the appeal. According to the Vatican News, Asia Bibi and her family can now leave Pakistan for any country that offers them asylum.

Several countries have offered her asylum: Sanchez did not even answer the petition

After knowing her acquittal in November, CitizenGO citizen platform published ads in newspapers of several countries to ask their presidents to grant asylum to Bibi. Among those who offered asylum to Asia Bibi are France, Italy, the United States, Canada and Australia. Although Theresa May celebrated the absolution of Asia Bibi, the United Kingdom refused to grant her asylum in the country for fear of the reactions of the important Pakistani Muslim community on British soil. Although in 2012 the former Rajoy executive had promised to welcome Asia Bibi in Spain, the current Spanish government of socialist Pedro Sánchez ignored the requests to grant asylum to the Christian mother: he did not even answer it. Precisely the current Spanish president has been criticized for congratulating Ramadan but not the Christian holidays, and his party, the PSOE, has been characterized for many years by a clearly Christianophobic ideological line.

The daughters of Asia Bibi are already in Canada

It is likely that Asia Bibi will end up sheltering in Canada. According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, the daughters of Asia Bibi are already in Canadian territory. CitizenGO has already asked the European governments for help so that Asia Bibi leaves Pakistan as soon as possible. Bibi and her family will not be able to stay in Pakistan because of the serious threat against them by Islamist groups, which have increased their pressure and attacks against the country's Christian minority since the acquittal of Asia Bibi was announced last November. A violent reaction that contributes to increase the controversy over the imposition of Islamic law in Pakistan and, specifically, on the gratuitous accusations of blasphemy usually launched against religious minorities by the Muslim majority.