The husband of Asia Bibi and his youngest daughter have traveled to Europe from Pakistan seeking help. Since 2009, they have undergone a terrible ordeal, simply because Asia Bibi refused to renounce her faith.
She was arrested for drinking water from a well reserved for Muslims and accused of blasphemy. That charge carries the death sentence in Pakistan. The blasphemy law has become an instrument to settle personal vendettas against Christians.
The judicial process has dragged on and it remains unclear whether or not she will be executed. But time passes and Asia Bibi, spends her days in a dark, tiny cell.
ASHIQ MASIH
Husband of Asia Bibi
'Europe can do a lot if it tries. Asia Bibi's case is falling into oblivion. What happens to Christians in Pakistan is persecution. Last Friday, a Christian boy was burned alive.â?
JOSEPH NADEEM
Lawyer of Asia Bibi
'We are expecting Europe and the international community to pressure the Pakistani government. There is an opportunity to free Asia Bibi because now the case is in the Supreme Court. This is the last chance to save Asia Bibi's life. The second last chance is the presidential pardon.â?
Ashiq and his daughter personally met with the Pope in Rome. They believe that he can provide decisive help in freeing Asia Bibi and that he should be able to give the Christian minority in Pakistan the help that it needs.
ASHIQ MASIH
Husband of Asia Bibi
'The Pope is the leader of all of us Christians. We are here to ask for his intervention and his prayers. His voice is also heard in Pakistan and he is very well respected.â?
The visit to Rome was especially poignant for Eisham, one of Asia Bibi's daughters. She could not contain herself as her words were being translated. She was only 9-years-old when she saw her mother brutally beaten and taken away.
EISHAM ASHIQ
Daughter of Asia Bibi
'She told me to go call my father but when I returned they had already taken her. Now, after all this, I ask you to pray for my mother, for my family, for her freedom and the freedom of all Christians.â?
They said that Asia Bibi remains strong mentally and that she has maintained her faith in God. It is all that she has in prison. Her husband is the only one who can visit her, though he is barely able to see her through her thickly enclosed cell.
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