Death sentence for Christian woman Asia Bibi, accused of blasphemy in Pakistan

 Asia Bibi, who is a married⁵ mother of two,¹ in her 30s,⁵ worked as a field laborer⁵ in the village of Ittanwali^3,4 in Punjab⁴ province, and had been under pressure from some Muslim co-workers to leave Christianity and convert to Islam.^1,3,4,5

  On June 19, 2009,^3,5 while working in the fields,⁴ female co-workers called her an “infidel”³ and Christianity a “religion of infidels”,³ and pressed her to convert to Islam.³ Bibi, who has a strong faith⁴ responded by saying Christianity was the only True religion³ and that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and asked what Muhammad, the founder and prophet of Islam, had done for them.^1,5 This reply enraged⁵ the Muslim women who then beat her.¹

  She was then either, locked up in a room by some men who then began broadcasting on the local mosque public address (PA) system plans to blacken her face and parade her through the village on a donkey, while a mob of villagers and Muslims clerics beat her two daughters,⁵ or she fled to her home where she was followed and beaten and her daughters tortured.³ Two other Christian families also lived in the village⁵ and either some of them⁵ or someone else³ informed the police and she was arrested.

  Pressure from local Muslims leaders¹ lead the police to charge her with blasphemy for insulting Muhammad under section 295-B and C of Pakistan Penal Code,³ which carries a sentence of death or life in prison.³ Bibi denies the charges and said instead that she was being persecuted for her religion.²

  The trial lasted over 16 months⁴ and she was found guilty on November 7 ⁵ in the town of Sheikhupura² and sentenced to death in the first ever such sentence for a woman.⁵ She was also fined £728, which is around two and a half year's wage for an unskilled laborer.⁵ Bibi can appeal the sentence but it may take years before her case is heard.⁴

  In a similar case, another Christian, Martha Bibi, is currently on trial for blasphemy in Lahore, after getting into a dispute with builders in Kasur.^1,5

  Release International, a Christian organization working for persecuted Christians worldwide, said the blasphemy law is easily⁴ open to abuse for vengeance,⁵ and Pakistan Christian Congress has called on the government to repeal it.³

Sources: 1. Christian Today (Australia), 2. Daily Telegraph (UK), 3. Pakistan Christian Post, 4. 5. Release International

UPDATE: A second article on this story has been posted here. Later reports claim Aisa Bibi is be 45-years-old and that she has at least 3 and up to 5 children.

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Source: Daily Telegraph (UK) 

Iranian President Ahmadinejad claims influence of Satan (US) behind Russian decision to cancel S-300 missile sale

 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the Russian of "selling out"³ and said,

"some people who are under the influence of Satan [the US] thought that if they can unilaterally and illegally cancel some defense agreements that they have with us, it will hurt the Iranian nation"³

"They should however be told that Iran does need their missiles to defend the country,"²  

"If you think that Iran would make concessions to the U.S. because of the canceled missile deal, then you should know that Iran would never do this,"²

 Russian president Dmitry Medvedev² canceled the sale of the S-300 anti-aircraft missiles³ in September citing U.N. sanctions imposed due to Iran's nuclear program.¹

Source: 1. AP, 2. Haaretz, 3. Jerusalem Post 

“Barbaric” Baghdad church attackers now to target all Christians with “sword of slaughter”, call Copts “dog”, Catholics “idolaters” and insult Pope

 The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) terror group that carried out what Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari calls a “barbaric”¹ attack on Our Lady of Salvation church, leaving sores of Christians dead, has announced that all Christians are now targets. It came after their 48 hour deadline⁴ expired for the release of two women, who they allege to have converted to Islam but are being held captive by the Egyptian Coptic church. 

 The following is included in ISI's message,

"The Ministry of War of Islamic State of Iraq declares that all the centers, organizations and bodies of Christian leaders and followers have become legitimate targets by the Mujahedeens, wherever our hands will reach them."⁴

"We will open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood,"³

"Let these idolaters, and at their forefront, the hallucinating tyrant of the Vatican, know that the killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of their followers until they declare their innocence from what the dog of the Egyptian Church is doing,"²

"The sword of slaughter will not be lifted off the necks of their followers until they denounce what the dog of the Egyptian church has committed, and until they show the Mujahedeens their serious endeavor to pressure the combatant (Coptic) church for the release of our Muslim sisters, who are captive in the prisons of their monateries,"⁴

(Christians would be) “extirpated and dispersed” (from Iraq.)⁵

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Sources: 1. 2. AFP, 3. AP 4. CNN 5. Reuters