Pakistan SC acquits Asia Bibi, orders immediate release
The Supreme Court
on Wednesday acquitted Asia Bibi, a Christian woman condemned to death on
blasphemy charges after accepting her 2015 appeal against her sentence. A three-judge bench
headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed
Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel had reserved its ruling on Asia
Bibi's final legal appeal against execution (Asia Bibi v. The State, etc) on
October 8. The appeal challenged
the Lahore High Court’s October 2014 verdict upholding a trial court’s November
2010 decision sentencing Bibi to death for committing blasphemy in 2009.
"The judgement of
the high court and that of the trial court is reversed," said the CJP in
court, adding that she is to be set free if she is not wanted in any other
case. "Her conviction
is set aside and she is to be relieved forthwith if not required in other
charges," he added. The 56-page detailed
judgement has been authored by CJP Nisar, with a separate concurrent opinion
note from Justice Khosa. "It is a well
settled principle of law that one who makes an assertion has to prove it. Thus,
the onus rests on the prosecution to prove guilt of the accused beyond
reasonable doubt throughout the trial," noted the top judge in the order.
"Presumption of innocence remains throughout the case until such time the
prosecution on the evidence satisfies the court beyond reasonable doubt that
the accused is guilty of the offence alleged against him. "
The
expression 'proof beyond reasonable doubt' is of fundamental importance to the
criminal justice: it is one of the principles which seeks to ensure that no
innocent person is convicted. "Keeping in mind
the evidence produced by the prosecution against the alleged blasphemy committed
by the appellant, the prosecution has categorically failed to prove its case
beyond reasonable doubt," concluded the chief justice.
High security: The decision to take
stringent security measures in the capital was made after a number of meetings
held to thrash out a strategy to deal with any unforeseen situation after the
verdict. On Oct 13 this year,
the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, a religio-political party headed by Khadim
Hussain Rizvi, threatened to “paralyse the country within hours if the Supreme
Court sets Asia Bibi free”. Islamabad was put
on high alert on Tuesday night. Extra contingents of police and law
enforcement agencies have been deployed in the capital.
About 300 police
personnel, along with paramilitary units, are guarding the SC building,
adjacent to Parliament House on Constitution Avenue. Sources in the
administration told Dawn that Rangers and Frontier
Constabulary had been called as part of measures to step up security in
Islamabad. Security of the Judges Enclave and the Diplomatic Enclave has been
handed over to Rangers. The sources said
security personnel had been asked to guard the Red Zone as it houses sensitive
installations, including the Supreme Court. According to the
sources, when some senior police officers met officials of the apex court, the
law enforcers were asked to adopt security measures for the Supreme Court and
other key points.
Allegations against
Asia Bibi: Asia Bibi was
convicted for blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code for
allegedly defaming Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). The offence carries
the mandatory death penalty under Pakistani law. The allegations
against Bibi were that she made three “defamatory and sarcastic” statements
about the Holy Prophet on June 14, 2009 during an argument with three Muslim
women while the four of them were picking fruit in a field in Sheikhupura. 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. The women later went
to a local cleric and accused Bibi of blasphemy against the Holy Prophet, a
charge punishable by death under legislation that rights groups say is
routinely abused to settle personal vendettas.
Arguments on appeal: During the hearing of
Bibi's appeal on Oct 8, the prosecution side, represented by Additional
Prosecutor for Punjab Chaudhry Zubair, and Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry from the
complainant side had supported each other by arguing that the accused had not
denied committing blasphemy or presence of the accused as well as the witnesses
at the place of occurrence. Besides, they said, the allegation of a quarrel
before the incident in which Bibi was first insulted for being a Christian had
also not been proved.
Advocate Saiful
Malook, appearing on behalf of Bibi, had argued that the prosecution’s case was
replete with infirmities and subsequent improvements and, therefore, the
benefit of the doubt should be given to the accused and the entire
investigation be declared illegal and unwarranted. Meanwhile, CJP Nisar
had observed that committing blasphemy was the most appalling and spiteful
offence, and not only “our laws but the fundamentals of our religion also place
strict standards of proof to prove the crime”.
Case history: The prosecution had
claimed that Bibi “admitted” making the blasphemous statements at a “public
gathering” on June 19, 2009 "while asking for forgiveness". A trial court
convicted Bibi for blasphemy in November 2010 and sentenced her to death. The
Lahore High Court (LHC) had upheld her conviction and confirmed her death
sentence in October 2014. She had then
challenged the LHC verdict in the Supreme Court, which stayed her execution in July
2015 and admitted her appeal for hearing. The top court had
first taken up the appeal in October 2016, but had to adjourn the matter
without hearing after one of the judges recused himself from the SC bench. Two
years later, the appeal was heard earlier this month and the CJP Nisar-led
bench reserved its verdict.
Bibi's supporters
maintain her innocence and insist it was a personal dispute, and the Vatican
has called for her release. In 2011, former Punjab
governor Salman Taseer, who spoke out in support of Bibi, was gunned down in
broad daylight in Islamabad. His assassin Mumtaz Qadri was executed in 2016
after the court found him guilty of murder.
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