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Pakistan Christian woman facing execution rescued
A Christian woman who potentially faced the death penalty in Pakistan for blasphemy against Islam has been moved to Sri Lanka with her husband and daughter, an official told BosNewsLife, just hours after Canada admitted it had rescued another prosecuted, mentally challenged, Christian girl.
"Martha Bibi, 47, and her Christian husband Boota Masih have arrived in Sri Lanka with their daughter. Two other daughters and three sons, will come soon as well," said the official. "They will apply for refugee status with (UN refugee agency) UNHCR, as this is the procedure," he added. "After that they will go to Canada or the United States."
The source, who was actively involved in the rescue operation, spoke on condition of anonymity amid security concerns including possible attacks by Islamic militants. In a seperate statement the independent 'Rescue Christians' group, which has close contacts with prosecuted Christians in Pakistan, said it had provided aid to the family.
The "persecution" of Bibi and her husband, who are entrepreneurs, began after she asked those leasing their building equipment in January 2007 to pay an outstanding bill, according to Christians familiar with the case. Those supporting her case claim she was left empty-handed and "smeared as a blasphemer, terrorized, and ultimately arrested" after she got into a fierce argument with a shop-owner near the mosque.
Though she allegedly did not mention religion in the heated exchange, the woman she argued with told her husband, identified publicly as Mohammad Ramzan, that Bibi "blasphemed" Islam's prophet Mohammed.
"A large furious mob had assembled and marched toward our home. We requested our neighbor Muhammad Rashid Mughal to hide us in his home which they allowed," said her husband in published remarks.
Following six years of uncertainty she was to appear in front of a Lahore court where she potentially faced the death penalty under the nation's controversial blasphemy legislation, prompting Christian activist to arrange her trip to Sri Lanka.
If convicted, she would have been the second woman in Pakistan facing execution for blasphemy. Asia Bibi, who is not related, has been awaiting her appeal against the death penalty for several years behind bars.
News of Martha Bibi's rescue came just hours after BosNewsLife could confirm that Canada had given refuge to 14-year-old Rimsha Masih.
BosNewsLife became aware of the trip to Canada last month but in agreement with Christians, for security reasons, awaited confirmation from Canada's Immigration Minister Jason Kenney or other officials.
Pakistan has come under international pressure to change blasphemy legislation, which critics say has been misused to settle personal disputes and to persecute Christians. Some 52 people accused of blasphemy against Islam and their supporters have been murdered in the last two decades, according to rights groups.
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