A Pakistani court has handed down a life sentence to a Muslim woman, Aasiya Bibi, convicted of burning pages from Islam’s holy book, according to a prosecutor’s statement on Friday. The decision was made under Pakistan’s stringent blasphemy laws, where even allegations can incite violence.
Government prosecutor Mohazib Awais disclosed that Bibi was arrested in 2021 following accusations from residents, claiming she desecrated the Quran. The verdict was announced by a judge in Lahore on Wednesday. Bibi, who maintains her innocence, retains the right to appeal.
This incident is distinct from the high-profile case of a Christian woman named Aasiya Bibi, who was acquitted of blasphemy in 2019 after spending eight years on death row. Fleeing to Canada due to threats, the acquitted Bibi’s case garnered international attention.
In a separate development earlier this month, a court in Gujranwala, Punjab province, sentenced a 22-year-old student to death and a teenager to life imprisonment in unrelated cases for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).