Thousands rally in Pakistan in support of killer of American
Islamabad, PakistanAP Thousands of radical Islamists rallied on Friday in north-western Pakistan in support of a man who earlier this week walked into a courtroom in the city of Peshawar and gunned down a US citizen on trial for blasphemy. The American, Tahir Naseem, died of his wounds before he could be taken to hospital […]
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 […]
Former Jakarta Governor ‘Ahok’ released in Indonesia
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the former governor of Jakarta popularly known as ‘Ahok’, has been released from prison in Indonesia. His release on Thursday, which comes three months early, followed the prominent Christian being given a two year jail sentence in 2017 following his conviction on blasphemy charges in May, 2017. The news was welcomed by activists […]
Two Pakistani Christian brothers sentenced to death for blasphemy
World Watch Monitor A Pakistani court last week sentenced two Christian brothers to death for blasphemy. Since their arrest in 2014, Qaisar and Amoon Ayub had been held in District Jail Jhelum, in Punjab province, 200 kilometres north of Lahore, for allegedly posting “disrespectful material” on their website, according to AsiaNews. For security reasons the two […]
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 […]
ESSAY: BLASPHEMY LAW IS REPEALED IN IRELAND BUT REMAINS A PROBLEM FOR CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS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…
Canadian broadcaster offers to sponsor Christian woman spared death in Pakistan
Toronto, CanadaRNS Yes TV, Canada’s largest multifaith broadcaster, has sent a letter to the Canadian government offering to sponsor and settle Asia Bibi, the Pakistani woman who was cleared of blasphemy charges last week. Her death sentence was commuted by Pakistan’s Supreme Court on 31st October following an appeal. Pakistan protesters rally against a Supreme Court decision […]
Updated – Asia Bibi acquitted after eight years on death row
Updated 9.10am, 1st November, 2018Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi has been acquitted of charges of blasphemy after eight years on death row. The mother of five was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sentenced to hang. Bibi, also known as Aasiya Noreen, was accused of defiling the name of the Prophet Muhammad during a dispute […]
Pakistan’s Supreme Court hears Asia Bibi’s ‘blasphemy’ appeal but delays ruling
World Watch Monitor Pakistan’s Supreme Court in the capital Islamabad has finally heard the much-delayed appeal of Asia Bibi, the first Christian woman sentenced to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy law. It has not announced its decision, saying it will ‘reserve judgment’ for several days or possibly weeks. Aasiya Noreen, a Pakistani Christian woman, has been […]
“Eliminate” blasphemy laws, says US commission chief on International Blasphemy Day
World Watch Monitor Blasphemy laws are “dangerous” and should be “eliminated”, the chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, said in a story published in Newsweek to mark International Blasphemy Day on Sunday. The freedom to criticise or mock religion should not be decided by governments and their interpretation of laws, said Dr Tenzin Dorjee. […]