Indian Christians condemn Pakistan’s blasphemy sentence

(November 12, 2010) Christian leaders in India have condemned the death sentence handed down to a Catholic woman for blasphemy in Pakistan. “It is a condemnable thing in the contemporary world,” said Father Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, CBCI. He demanded the repeal of the laws which he said are often used against the minority communities in some countries. A court in Pakistan on Nov 7 sentenced 45-year-old Asia Bibi to death, favouring the prosecution that she had passed derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammed. She says she was forced to defend her religion after Muslim women on June 19, 2009 called her an “infidel” and Christianity a “religion of infidels” and pressurized her to embrace Islam. Bibi and her children were allegedly beaten after the incident and the woman has been in jail for the past year. Jyotsana Chatterjee, director of the Joint Women’s Program of the Church of North India, said the death sentence given to the woman is “extremely against human rights and laws of judgement” The All India Christian Council (AICC) has asked the Indian government to raise the matter with the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Pakistani Government in a bid to save the woman’s life. Dr. Nazir Bhatti, Chief of Pakistan Christian Congress has demanded withdrawal of the false blasphemy case against Asia Bibi and her immediate release from jail.