Court frees Pakistani Christian

BY ANABEL INGE
A CHRISTIAN Pakistani woman has walked free from jail after spending nine months locked up on false accusations of blasphemy.
She was accused by Muslims of urinating against a picture of an Islamic shrine but has been cleared of all blasphemy charges.
Naseem Bibi was released by Kasur district court which ruled that there was no credible evidence against her.
Thanks to the early intervention of the police the 30year-old mother of three had escaped being lynched by a mob that had gathered on the site of the alleged desecration, according to the Romebased missionary news agency AsiaNews.
Bibi, who is mentally disabled, was charged under section 295 (B) of the penal code — commonly referred to as the "blasphemy law" which imposes a life prison sentence on those who desecrate sacred Islamic texts.
The laws also carry a death penalty for anyone deemed to have insulted Mohammed, the founder of Islam.
Sohail Johnson, chief coordinator of the Sharing Life Ministry, a group which assisted with Bibi's defence, said: "We appreciate the court's decision because this case was concocted. Local police made this false case under the pressure of extremists."
Bibi is the second Christian charged with blasphemy in Pakistan to be released in a month.
Father-of-six Ranjha Masih had served eight years of his life prison sentence when a Pakistani court quashed his blasphemy conviction. Witnesses stated that, during a 1998 funeral procession that turned into a political demonstration, Masih had thrown a stone that hit a billboard bearing a verse from the Koran. He was acquitted at an appeal when a Lahore High Court judge ruled that there was an absence of any concrete evidence against him.
Mr Johnson, who helps those accused of blasphemy, said: "We are thankful to all the people Who have prayed for prisoners of faith — this happy news is just the answer to their prayers. But they have to continue their prayers because there are many other people who are still in jail for their faith."