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09 November 2010
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/28345/
LAHORE, Pakistan, November 13 (CDN) — A Christian mother of five was sentenced to death by a Pakistani court this week for allegedly speaking ill of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam.
Bowing to pressure from Muslim extremists in Pakistan, according to the Christian woman’s husband and rights groups, a district court judge handed down the stunning sentence to Asia Noreen on Monday (Nov. 8). Additional District and Sessions Judge Naveed Ahmed Chaudhary of Nankana Sahib district delivered the verdict under Pakistan’s controversial “blasphemy” statute, the kind of law that a resolution before the United Nations condemning “defamation of religions” would make legitimate internationally.
Although Pakistan has long prosecuted men under its strict blasphemy laws, arresting an average of one person per week, Noreen is the first woman to be sentenced to death under Pakistan’s widely condemned law against defaming Islam.
According to Noreen, her arrest came after she argued with fellow field workers in Ittanwali village who were trying to pressure her into renouncing Christianity. Her husband, Ashiq Masih, said that the argument began after the wife of an Ittanwali elder sent her to fetch water in Nankana Sahib district, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from Lahore in Punjab Province. The Muslim women told Noreen that it was sacrilegious to drink water collected by a non-Muslim, he said. “My wife only said, ‘Are we not all humans?’ when the Muslim women rebuked her for her faith,” Masih said . “This led to an altercation.” The women told Muslim cleric Muhammad Salim (who was not present during the incident) about the June 14 incident, and he filed a case with police on June 19, 2009, according to police.
On that day (June 19), Masih said, the Muslim women suddenly raised a commotion, accusing Noreen of defaming Muhammad. “Several Muslim men working in the nearby fields reached the spot and forced their way into our house, where they tortured Asia and the children,” said Masih, who confirmed that his wife is 45 years old and that they have five children – four girls and a boy, the oldest daughter 20. Police arrived and took his wife into custody, presumably for her own protection, he said.
Noreen was not allowed to testify on her behalf during the trial. In addition to her death sentence, the local judge also fined her 100,000 rupees (US$1,150), according to the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).
Ataul Saman of the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) said that lower court verdicts in blasphemy cases are usually overturned by higher courts. He said lower court proceedings take place under intense pressure, with local Muslims gathering outside and chanting slogans to pressure judges. Saman added that NCJP research showed that up to 80 percent of blasphemy charges are filed against people to settle personal scores.
Between 1986 and August 2009, at least 974 people have been charged with defiling the Quran or insulting Muhammad, according to the NCJP. Those charged included 479 Muslims, 340 Ahmadis, 119 Christians, 14 Hindus and 10 from other religions.
Rights groups have long criticized Pakistan’s blasphemy laws as too easily used to settle grudges or oppress religious minorities. To date no one has been executed for blasphemy in Pakistan, as most are freed on appeal after suffering for years under appalling prison conditions. However, vigilante groups have killed at least 10 people accused of blasphey after they were released from prison, rights groups estimate.
Noreen was convicted under Section 295-C of the defamation statutes for alleged derogatory comments about Muhammad, which is punishable by death, though life imprisonment is also possible. Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or a use of its extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment. Section 295-A of the defamation law prohibits injuring or defiling places of worship and “acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class of citizens.” It is punishable by life imprisonment.
