Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy, filed an appeal in the Supreme Court on Monday, her final legal recourse after being found guilty of insulting Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) four years ago.
The Lahore High Court had confirmed the death sentence of Aasia Bibi last month, dashing hopes the conviction might be overturned or commuted to a jail term. She has been on death row since November 2010 after being convicted of committing blasphemy during an argument with a Muslim woman over a bowl of water.
“On behalf of Aasia Bibi I have today filed an appeal in the Supreme Court,” defence attorney Saiful Malook told a foreign news agency.
Malook said that in the petition his client has asked the court to reconsider deficiencies in the case, including allegedly manipulated evidence and a delay between the time of the incident and its investigation by police.
Malook added that the blasphemy allegation was concocted by Bibi’s enemies to target her and had no basis in fact.
“We expect an early hearing of the appeal and hope that the proceedings will be over in one year,” he added.
The allegations against Bibi date back to June 2009, when she was labouring in a field and a row broke out with some Muslim women she was working with.
She was asked to fetch water, but the Muslim women objected, saying that as a non-Muslim she was unfit to touch the water bowl.
A few days later the women went to a local cleric and put forward the blasphemy allegations.
Bibi’s husband has also written to President Mamnoon Hussain to ask for her to be pardoned and allowed to move to France.
