Asia Bibi: Church to appeal Death penalty

Catholic leaders in Pakistan will appeal to their country’s Supreme Court after a lower court upheld the death penalty for a blasphemy ruling against a Christian mother

A lower court upheld the death penalty for a blasphemy ruling against Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five children and the Catholic leaders in Pakistan have decided to appeal to their country’s Supreme Court. Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, director of the National (Catholic) Commission for Justice and Peace has told the Catholic News Service, “Like it or not, we have to accept the court order.”

Four days ago Lahore High Court upheld the death sentence handed to Asia Bibi in 2010 and Father Mani said that the Christians were praying for an acquittal and “The only option before us now is to appeal against the verdict. We have applied for a certified copy of the verdict. We will appeal against it in the Supreme Court.”

Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation, a Catholic group named for a critic of Pakistan’s blasphemy law, has issued a statement in which they expressed disappointment in the ruling. The statement by the Catholic advocacy group said “Bibi has wrongly been convicted of blasphemy. We remain optimistic that the rule of law will prevail and justice will be done (when the appeal is heard in the Supreme Court). For now that is our only hope.”

source: catholicherald