Pakistan's highest court has spared the life of a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in a long-awaited ruling, prompting celebration among human rights activists and countrywide protest by religious parties.
Asia Bibi, a mother and farmer, had spent eight years seeking mercy from appeals courts while imprisoned on death row.
The Supreme Court acquitted Bibi on charges of making "derogatory remarks" about the Muslim prophet Muhammad, ruling that the evidence against her appeared fabricated and insufficient.
If she had been found guilty and not received presidential clemency, Bibi would have been the first person hanged under Pakistan's strict anti-blasphemy law, which carries a mandatory penalty of death.
"It is ironical that in the Arabic language the appellant's name Asia means 'sinful' but in the circumstances of the present case she appears to be a person, in the words of Shakespeare's King [Lear], 'more sinned against than sinning,' " Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa wrote in a concurring opinion.
After the verdict, protests erupted across the country, as hundreds of people from religious parties took to roads and highways in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and elsewhere.
Anticipating the widespread protest and agitation, the Pakistani Government took stringent security measures in Islamabad, the capital, and other cities. Extra police and Pakistani Rangers, a paramilitary force, were deployed at important government buildings, including the Supreme Court.
Prime Minister Imran Khan called for calm.
Bibi's case has been at the heart of growing national turmoil over the laws and punishments for those accused of blasphemy against Islam and Muhammad. The harsh laws are often used to target minorities, including Christians and Ahmedis.
Bibi, a farmhand and mother said to be in her late 40s, was accused of blasphemy after arguing with Muslim co-workers nearly a decade ago.
She was immediately charged with the crime and put in prison.
The provincial governor of Punjab, where she lived, made speeches defending her and implicitly questioning the blasphemy laws. He was assassinated by his own bodyguard, who confessed and said he had shot his boss to defend Islam.
The killer, 26-year-old Mumtaz Qadri, was hanged by the Government for murder in 2016, but by then he had become a cause celebre and religious hero to many Sunni Muslims. The movement in defence of the Prophet was born.
Bibi remained in prison and was convicted of blasphemy, then appealed to the higher courts. Her treatment became a cause for religious rights groups in Pakistan and the West, which saw her acquittal Wednesday as a victory.
The cause of "defending the Prophet" through blasphemy laws has spawned a fervent religious movement in recent years that has attracted millions of mainstream Pakistani Muslims. It has led to mass protests and inroads in parliamentary elections.
On the eve of judgment, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, chief of the religious political party Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), warned against any decision in favour of Bibi and said that if that happened, the whole country would be brought to a standstill. He urged his followers to "be prepared for any sacrifice if Asia Bibi is acquitted."
The surprise ruling is likely to intensify months of intermittent conflict between the anti-blasphemy movement and civilian authorities, who were forced to back down late last year when the group staged a weeks-long protest that blocked the major highway between Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi.
The case against Bibi stems from a fight over a cup of water on a hot day. One afternoon in June 2009, Bibi was working in the field picking berries when she asked a group of women if they would like some water.
She offered to fetch it and bring it to them. But the women, who were Muslim, told Bibi that "because she is a Christian they would never take water from her hand," according to the ruling.
That's when the women alleged that Bibi made "derogatory remarks" about Muhammad, allegations that the court found did not hold up beyond a reasonable doubt.
In Pakistan, where the mere allegation of blasphemy can lead to lynchings and murders before a court has even heard the evidence, Bibi's case ignited acute tension between the increasingly aggressive far-right anti-blasphemy movement and groups supporting leniency.
The judges, who took no issue with death as punishment for blasphemy, said that in this case they were bound to honour the accused's presumption of innocence, which they found had been violated. In fact, Justice Khosa wrote, it appeared the mob's rush to judgment in its support for putting Bibi to death was just as blasphemous.
"This Court has held that 'Commission of blasphemy is abhorrent and immoral . . . but at the same time a false allegation regarding commission of such an offence is equally detestable,'" Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar wrote.
He concluded: "Keeping in mind the evidence produced by the prosecution against the alleged blasphemy committed by [Bibi], the prosecution has categorically failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt."
After the ruling was handed down, about 1000 protesters belonging to TLP and other religious parties blocked the Faizabad interchange, the main entry point of the capital, which connects it to Rawalpindi.
Asia Bibi has been on death row for eight years after being accused of blasphemy. The Christian woman has now been acquitted in by the Supreme Court in Pakistan, provoking protests.
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) October 31, 2018
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Haris Ahmed, a young TLP protester, told the Washington Post: "We don't accept this decision, which is given only to please the US and other Western powers. Our protest will continue until and unless the Supreme Court reverses its decision and the blasphemer is sentenced to death. When it comes to the honour of the holy Prophet, we are ready to sacrifice everything, and if the Government believes it can stop us with the use of force, they are living in a fools' paradise."
Khadim Hussain Rizvi, whose TLP won a sizable chunk of votes in Pakistan's general elections in July, staged a protest with hundreds of supporters in Lahore, in front of the provincial legislature. He urged followers to come out of their homes to protect their religious beliefs.
"Stop working," Rizvi told them. "Leave everything else. This is not a time to stay at your homes and offices. It's time to give sacrifice and protect your religion.
"All of you hearing my voice shut your doors and come join this protest. We don't accept this verdict. A blasphemer can't be forgiven, and we are ready for every sacrifice. For us, the honour of our Prophet is everything. We are ready to face police. We are not afraid of anything. It's time to rise for your religion."
His angry protesters repeatedly chanted the slogan, "We are here in your service, holy Prophet."
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