Supreme Court Ruling in Pakistan Gives Christians Hope
- Updated Oct 29, 2015
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that the government be required to review the country’s blasphemy laws which have resulted in many unjust sentences.
Christian Today reports that Pakistani Christians are hopeful that the Supreme Court’s ruling will lessen the persecution they have experienced in Pakistan where saying anything against Islam can result in fines, years in prison, or even the death penalty.
The Court’s ruling states, "It is, therefore, for the State of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to ensure that no innocent person is compelled or constrained to face an investigation or a trial on the basis of false or trumped-up allegations regarding commission of such an offence."
Christians are a small, but committed minority in Pakistan, making up only two percent of the population.
The prominent case of Christian mother-of-five Asia Bibi who has been sentenced to the death penalty for supposedly blaspheming the Prophet Mohammed has highlighted Pakistan’s injustice in regard to blasphemy laws.
World Watch Monitor recently reported that Bibi has appealed her sentence to the Supreme Court and her hearing will take place sometime this January or February.
Bibi has been on death row for over five years and claims she is the victim of a personal vendetta of her accuser against Christians.
Photo courtesy: flickr.com
Publication date: October 29, 2015
