Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - Another Christian victim of the controversial "blasphemy law" asks for bail – risking death: we are talking about Ruqqiya Bibi sentenced in 2010 by the court in Kasur (in Punjab) to 25 years in prison for "desecrating the Koran" by touching it with unwashed hands, along with her husband, Munir Masih.
After eight months in prison, the woman's lawyers - backed by the organization CLAAS (Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement) - have asked for bail and the Lahore High Court will decide at a hearing scheduled next November 10. For her husband Munir, the same demand has been accepted, but as sources of Fides note "both are likely to be victims of extrajudicial killings in the hands of Islamic extremists, who do not acknowledge that the 'blasphemous' are alive and free". "The history of the Masih couple is a classic example of abuse of the law of blasphemy and of how Christians suffer persecution in Pakistan, persevering in faith in Christ", notes the source of Fides. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 29/10/2011)
