Asia Bibi’s Christian brother-in-law killed in Pakistan
BosNewsLife The brother-in-law of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who faced the death penalty after being accused of blasphemy against Islam, has been killed, Christians have confirmed this week. The body of Younas Masih, 50, was reportedly found on 25th May in a furrow in Dao Ki Mallian village in the Sheikhupura district of Pakistan’s […]
As religious freedom summit ends, US State Department announces new alliance, sanctions
Washington, DCRNS Trump administration officials announced a new alliance with US partners focused on religious freedom and new sanctions against foreign military officials supporting countries the US considers to be instigators of religious persecution. The developments on Thursday were among the highlights of the last day of the State Department’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. […]
Asia Bibi happy to be in Canada but ‘very tired’ after blasphemy ordeal, says friend
Winnipeg, CanadaRNS When he heard that Asia Bibi – the Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy – was on her way to Canada, Nadeem Bhatti could hardly believe it. “We had been told three or four times she was going to be leaving, but it never turned out,” said Bhatti, a friend of the family […]
Asia Bibi, Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy, leaves Pakistan for Canada
Asia Bibi, a Christian women acquitted of blasphemy last year after spending eight years on death row, has left Pakistan for Canada to be reunited with her daughters, according to reports. Bibi, who has always maintained her innocence, was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 following a dispute with a fellow farm labourer involving a cup […]
Asia Bibi free to leave Pakistan after court dismisses challenge to her acquittal
Lahore, PakistanRNS Pakistan’s Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by Islamists to overturn the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman previously convicted of blasphemy, freeing her to leave the country and join her daughters in Canada. In the ruling Tuesday, Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said the petitioners led by a village cleric failed […]
Asia Bibi’s daughters take refuge in Canada as court decision looms
Two daughters of Asia Bibi – a Christian mother of five who was acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan last October – have reportedly taken refuge in Canada ahead of a court decision this week on whether a challenge to her acquittal can proceed. The Telegraph reports that Bibi, also known as Aasiya Noreen, is expected […]
Pakistan joins US list of worst religious freedom violators
World Watch Monitor Pakistan is among the 10 countries that appear on the US State Department’s latest list of Countries of Particular Concern for religious-freedom violations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced in a press statement on Tuesday. China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan are accused of “having engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom”. […]
Asia Bibi, in hiding after blasphemy acquittal, is banned from leaving Pakistan
Lahore, PakistanRNS It has been a month since Asia Bibi was acquitted of blasphemy, but her ordeal is far from over. A Christian woman who spent nine years in prison for allegedly insulting the Prophet Muhammad under Pakistan’s draconian blasphemy law, which carries the death penalty, Bibi is now in hiding in a government safe house […]
Pakistan’s Christians wary as asylum offers flood in for Asia Bibi
World Watch Monitor Several countries have offered asylum to the Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, after she was acquitted by the country’s highest court last month of a blasphemy charge carrying the capital punishment. However, local Christians are fearful of repercussions, as the West is perceived as Christian to most Pakistanis. There were violent protests when the Supreme Court […]
ESSAY: BLASPHEMY LAW IS REPEALED IN IRELAND BUT REMAINS A PROBLEM FOR CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS
US academic STEVEN PINKERTON, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at the ongoing evolution of blasphemy laws around the world…