Why was Asia Bibi’s death penalty conviction overturned, does Pakistan have capital punishment and what is blasphemy?
The 47-year-old spent almost a decade on death row and always maintained her innocence
ASIA Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 after being accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.
The mum-of-four spent almost a decade on death row before her conviction was finally overturned by the country's highest court. Here's her story.
Why was Asia Bibi sentenced to death?
Asia Bibi, a Christian, was put on death row in 2010 after she was accused of insulting Prophet Mohammed in Pakistan's capital, Lahore.
The charge against Bibi dates back to a hot day in 2009 when she went to get water for her and her fellow farmworkers.
Two Muslim women refused to take a drink from a container used by a Christian.
A few days later, a mob accused her of blasphemy and she was convicted and sentenced to death.
Bibi's lawyer, Saiful Malook, argued that the many contradictions in witnesses' statements tainted the evidence.
The two Muslim women who levelled the charges against Bibi denied they were quarrelling with her, saying her outbursts against Islam were unprovoked.
Yet several independent witnesses who gave statements recounted a cantankerous exchange between the women.
The prosecution's case centred mostly on religious texts that vilify those who make blasphemous statements.
Why was her death penalty conviction overturned?
On October 31, 2018, Pakistan's Supreme Court announced Asia Bibi's acquittal, sparking protests by by hard-line Islamists in the country.
He wrote, “tolerance is the basic principle of Islam,” and added the religion condemns injustice and oppression.
“It is great news for Pakistan and rest of the world,” Bibi’s lawyer Saiful Mulook told Reuters.
“Asia Bibi has finally been served justice. ... Pakistan’s Supreme Court must be appreciated that it upheld the law of the land and didn’t succumb to any pressure.”
Her case outraged Christians worldwide and has been a source of division within Pakistan, where two politicians who tried to help the mum-of-four were assassinated.
Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province, was shot and killed by one of his guards in 2011 for defending Bibi and criticising the misuse of the blasphemy law.
The assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, has been celebrated as a martyr by hard-liners since he was hanged for the killing, with millions visiting a shrine set up for him near Islamabad.
Bibi's first appeal was dismissed by a Lahore High Court in 2014, but the Supreme Court stayed her execution in 2015.
Does Pakistan have capital punishment?
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Pakistan and , as an Islamic state it must follow Islamic laws.
The Pakistan Penal code lists 27 different offences punishable by death.
There include blasphemy, rape, sexual intercourse outside of marriage, assault on the modesty of women and drug-smuggling.
After several amendments from different governments in Pakistan, the Code is now a mixture of Islamic and English law.
Hanging is the only legal method of execution.
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