Asia Bibi case highlights Pakistan′s harsh blasphemy laws | All media content | DW | 08.10.2018

We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration.

More info OK
  1. Inhalt
  2. Navigation
  3. Weitere Inhalte
  4. Metanavigation
  5. Suche
  6. Choose from 30 Languages

Asia

Asia Bibi case highlights Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws

Asia Bibi, a Pakistani-Christian woman, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani court on blasphemy charges in 2010. Who is Bibi, and why has her case attracted international attention?

  • Asia Bibi (picture-alliance/dpa)

    A dispute over water

    In 2009, Asia Bibi was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad while she was working in a field in Punjab's Sheikhupura district. The Muslim women who were working with Bibi objected to her fetching water, saying that as a non-Muslim she was not allowed to touch the water bowl. The women then complained to a local cleric and leveled blasphemy charges against Bibi.

  • Pakistan blasphemy protests against girl's school in Lahore (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

    A sensitive matter

    According to local media, the argument in the field led to a mob attack on Bibi's house. Later, police took Bibi into custody and launched an investigation into the blasphemy accusations. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 percent of the population is Muslim.

  • Pakistan Christen-Verfolgung (Noman Michael)

    Controversial law

    The blasphemy law was introduced by General Zia-ul-Haq, a military dictator, in the 1980s. Activists say they are often implemented in cases that have little to do with blasphemy and are used to settle petty disputes and personal vendettas. Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis — a minority Islamic sect — are often victimized as a result.

  • Asia Bibi's family Pakistan (picture alliance/dpa)

    The Pakistani state vs. Bibi

    In 2010, a lower court convicted Bibi of blasphemy. Although the defense lawyer argued that the blasphemy allegations were made to settle personal scores, the court sentenced Bibi to death by hanging. Bibi's family has been living under constant fear since 2010. Her husband, Ashiq Masih (R), says he has been fighting a battle for his wife's freedom ever since.

  • Former governor of Punjab province Salman Taseer and Asia Bibi (AP)

    Assassination of critics

    In 2010, Salman Taseer (R), the then governor of Punjab province, backed Bibi and demanded amendments in the blasphemy laws. Taseer's anti-blasphemy law position angered extremists. In 2011, Taseer was gunned down by his own bodyguard in Islamabad. The same year, Shahbaz Bhatti, the then minister for minorities and a prominent blasphemy law critic, was also assassinated by unidentified gunmen.

  • Pakistan Mumtaz Qadri Mord Gouverneur Salman Taseer (AP)

    Celebration of killings

    After Taseer's murder, Qadri became a hero for Pakistani Islamists. Qadri was showered with rose petals by right-wing groups as he was taken to jail by the authorities. Qadri was sent to the gallows in 2016. Thousands of people – mostly supporters of Islamic groups – attended Qadri's funeral. Local media reported that Qadri's supporters built a shrine after his death to honor him.

  • Pakistan Proteste gegen Hinrichtung von Mumtaz Qadri (Reuters/F. Mahmood)

    Fear in the judicial community

    After the killings of blasphemy law critics, many lawyers refused to take up Bibi's case in the higher courts. In 2014, the Lahore High Court upheld her death sentence. Pakistan's top court, the Supreme Court, was scheduled to hear Bibi's appeal against the conviction in 2016, but one judge refused to be a part of the judicial bench, citing personal reasons.

  • Pakistan APMA solidarity march (APMA)

    Victims of blasphemy law

    According to the American Centre for Law and Justice, at least 40 Pakistanis were sentenced to death on blasphemy charges in 2016. The law is often used to target religious minorities and secular Muslims. Although there hasn't been any legal execution under the blasphemy law, there have been instances where angry mobs have lynched alleged blasphemers.

  • Pakistan destroyed Hindu Tempel in Karatschi (RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images)

    Persecution of religious minorities

    Pakistan's Christians and other religious minorities complain of legal and social discrimination in their country. In the past few years, many Christians and Hindus have been brutally murdered over unproven blasphemy allegations.

  • Pakistan Islamabad - Islamists protest against ministers (picture-alliance/AP Photo/B. K. Bangash)

    Threats from Islamists

    Religious extremists in Pakistan, particularly the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group, have warned the authorities against reversing Bibi's blasphemy verdict. The country's Christian minority fears that if the judges decide to reverse the death sentence, they could face a violent backlash from the country's hardline Islamic groups.

  • Pope Francis (picture-alliance/Catholic Press Photo/P. Haring)

    International support for Bibi

    Rights groups and Western governments demand a fair trial in Bibi's case. In 2015, Bibi's daughter met with Pope Francis, who offered prayers for her mother at the Vatican. In 2014, Amnesty International dubbed the Lahore High Court's verdict against Bibi a "grave injustice." The American Centre for Law and Justice also condemned Bibi's sentence and urged Islamabad to protect religious minorities.


  • Asia Bibi (picture-alliance/dpa)

    A dispute over water

    In 2009, Asia Bibi was accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad while she was working in a field in Punjab's Sheikhupura district. The Muslim women who were working with Bibi objected to her fetching water, saying that as a non-Muslim she was not allowed to touch the water bowl. The women then complained to a local cleric and leveled blasphemy charges against Bibi.

  • Pakistan blasphemy protests against girl's school in Lahore (Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images)

    A sensitive matter

    According to local media, the argument in the field led to a mob attack on Bibi's house. Later, police took Bibi into custody and launched an investigation into the blasphemy accusations. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 percent of the population is Muslim.

  • Pakistan Christen-Verfolgung (Noman Michael)

    Controversial law

    The blasphemy law was introduced by General Zia-ul-Haq, a military dictator, in the 1980s. Activists say they are often implemented in cases that have little to do with blasphemy and are used to settle petty disputes and personal vendettas. Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis — a minority Islamic sect — are often victimized as a result.

  • Asia Bibi's family Pakistan (picture alliance/dpa)

    The Pakistani state vs. Bibi

    In 2010, a lower court convicted Bibi of blasphemy. Although the defense lawyer argued that the blasphemy allegations were made to settle personal scores, the court sentenced Bibi to death by hanging. Bibi's family has been living under constant fear since 2010. Her husband, Ashiq Masih (R), says he has been fighting a battle for his wife's freedom ever since.

  • Former governor of Punjab province Salman Taseer and Asia Bibi (AP)

    Assassination of critics

    In 2010, Salman Taseer (R), the then governor of Punjab province, backed Bibi and demanded amendments in the blasphemy laws. Taseer's anti-blasphemy law position angered extremists. In 2011, Taseer was gunned down by his own bodyguard in Islamabad. The same year, Shahbaz Bhatti, the then minister for minorities and a prominent blasphemy law critic, was also assassinated by unidentified gunmen.

  • Pakistan Mumtaz Qadri Mord Gouverneur Salman Taseer (AP)

    Celebration of killings

    After Taseer's murder, Qadri became a hero for Pakistani Islamists. Qadri was showered with rose petals by right-wing groups as he was taken to jail by the authorities. Qadri was sent to the gallows in 2016. Thousands of people – mostly supporters of Islamic groups – attended Qadri's funeral. Local media reported that Qadri's supporters built a shrine after his death to honor him.

  • Pakistan Proteste gegen Hinrichtung von Mumtaz Qadri (Reuters/F. Mahmood)

    Fear in the judicial community

    After the killings of blasphemy law critics, many lawyers refused to take up Bibi's case in the higher courts. In 2014, the Lahore High Court upheld her death sentence. Pakistan's top court, the Supreme Court, was scheduled to hear Bibi's appeal against the conviction in 2016, but one judge refused to be a part of the judicial bench, citing personal reasons.

  • Pakistan APMA solidarity march (APMA)

    Victims of blasphemy law

    According to the American Centre for Law and Justice, at least 40 Pakistanis were sentenced to death on blasphemy charges in 2016. The law is often used to target religious minorities and secular Muslims. Although there hasn't been any legal execution under the blasphemy law, there have been instances where angry mobs have lynched alleged blasphemers.

  • Pakistan destroyed Hindu Tempel in Karatschi (RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images)

    Persecution of religious minorities

    Pakistan's Christians and other religious minorities complain of legal and social discrimination in their country. In the past few years, many Christians and Hindus have been brutally murdered over unproven blasphemy allegations.

  • Pakistan Islamabad - Islamists protest against ministers (picture-alliance/AP Photo/B. K. Bangash)

    Threats from Islamists

    Religious extremists in Pakistan, particularly the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) group, have warned the authorities against reversing Bibi's blasphemy verdict. The country's Christian minority fears that if the judges decide to reverse the death sentence, they could face a violent backlash from the country's hardline Islamic groups.

  • Pope Francis (picture-alliance/Catholic Press Photo/P. Haring)

    International support for Bibi

    Rights groups and Western governments demand a fair trial in Bibi's case. In 2015, Bibi's daughter met with Pope Francis, who offered prayers for her mother at the Vatican. In 2014, Amnesty International dubbed the Lahore High Court's verdict against Bibi a "grave injustice." The American Centre for Law and Justice also condemned Bibi's sentence and urged Islamabad to protect religious minorities.


More in the Media Center

Pakistan court upholds Asia Bibi's blasphemy acquittal 29.01.2019

Pakistanis welcome arrest of Asia Bibi protesters 26.11.2018

Asia Bibi's lawyer: 'The West must support me' 06.11.2018

Christians in Pakistan fear increasing intolerance 21.12.2018

Read also

Pakistan Asia Bibi 2010

Asia Bibi: Pakistani court upholds acquittal decision 29.01.2019

Pakistan's top court has dismissed an appeal against the acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy. The decision has paved the way for Bibi's departure from Pakistan, where Islamists want her dead.

Proteste gegen Freilassung von Asia Bibi in Pakistan

Opinion: Pakistan owes Asia Bibi an apology 29.01.2019

Pakistan's top court has upheld its decision to acquit Asia Bibi of blasphemy charges, but the grave injustice that kept the Christian woman in prison for almost a decade demands introspection, says DW's Shamil Shams.

Pakistan Asia Bibi 2010

Conflicting reports about Asia Bibi's whereabouts 01.02.2019

The lawyer of the Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy told a German newspaper that Bibi and her husband had arrived in Canada. Other sources insist she is still in Pakistan.

Pakistan Unruhen wegen Freilassung Christin Blasphemie

Pakistan dangles between hope and despair over minority rights 24.12.2018

Will 2019 be a better year for Pakistan's religious minorities? 2018 offered some hope, as the country's top court released Asia Bibi, a blasphemy-accused Christian woman, from jail. Should we keep our hopes high?