In Pakistan in June 2009, Aasia Bibi was out picking berries with Muslim women from her village. When she offered these other women drinking water, they refused because she was an "unclean" Christian. In an altercation that followed, Aasia allegedly insulted Islam. Blasphemy from a Dhimmi! She was promptly arrested and condemned to hang. She has been in solitary on death row ever since and her husband and five children have had to go into hiding.
Aasia does have a brave lawyer who has lodged an appeal but this is unlikely to be heard before 2025. The Pakistani sharia addled "judiciary" is clearly hoping that she will die in prison either from illness or an " accident ". This would avoid them the embarrassment of an execution. Yes, for all their dreadfulness, they are concerned about their international reputation particularily since the Pope has taken an interest in the case.
As always, there are a few humans around like her lawyer. Trouble is that in Pakistan most of them get very short shrift indeed. Salman Taseer, governor of the Punjab, visited Aasia in jail with his wife and daughter. He pledged her his support. For this he was gunned down by one of his body guards. Acclaiming him as a hero, a throng of lawyers showered the bodyguard with rose petals as he left court.
The village mullah who laid the charge against Aasia has told the press that he is looking forward to her execution as it will guarantee him brownie points in heaven. Probably worth a few extra virgins!
Last year in Bahawalpur, Catholic Pakistanis were machine gunned during a service in their church. 16 dead. Similar unprosecuted massacres of Non-Muslims occur continuously in Pakistan. One is left with the sickening sense that the majority of Pakistanis are rather proud of the persecution and murdering of religious minorities.
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