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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White American Muslim convert Zachary Adam Chesser pleads guilty to terror charges

 Chesser aka Abu Talhah Al-Amreeki has pleaded guilty to providing material support to Al-Qaeda-inspired al-Shebab and making threats against South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.¹ Chester had warned that Stone and Parker risked the same fate as Theo Van Gogh for depicting Mohammed in South Park and posted their office addresses online.¹ He also posted the personal information of those who joined the Facebook group "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" on jihadist websites saying it was "a place to start."¹ According to the FBI, he also posted online the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook in order to help terrorists target U.S. Airlines.² Chester also admitted placing fake suspicious packages around to make police drop their guard when dealing with such reports so that there would be a "Boom! No more kafir" while inspecting a real one.^1,2 He made two attempts to travel to Somalia to join al-Shebab in jihad terror and was arrested on his second attempt.¹

 Chester seems to have converted to Islam after dating a Muslim girl in school.² He broke up with her after a brief period but married another Muslim woman soon after and quickly had a child with her. A high school friend Drew Harrington said Chester was "always trying to find himself" and "just wanted to be part of something".²

Source: 1. AFP, 2. Washington Post