Yahoo - AFP,
April 15, 2015
 |
| Pope Francis waves at the faithful on St. Peter's square on April 15, 2014 after his weekly general audience at the Vatican (AFP Photo/Vincenzo Pinto) |
Pope
Francis on Wednesday met the husband and daughter of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani
Christian woman sentenced to death over blasphemy charges, the Vatican said.
"I
pray for Asia, for you and for all Christians who are suffering," Francis
told Bibi's husband Ashiq Masiq and their 15-year-old daughter, according to
the Vatican Insider website.
Mother of
five Bibi has been on death row since a row broke out in 2009 with a group of
women she was working with in a field.
They
accused her of insulting the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, a charge she denies. Soon
afterwards, she was jailed and sentenced by a court to death by hanging.
Bibi's
death sentence was confirmed in October 2014 by the Lahore High Court.
Helped by
an NGO to travel to Europe, Bibi's husband and daughter are seeking to rally
support for their cause. They want European officials to take up the issue with
Islamabad.
Last
November, the EU parliament called on Pakistan to overhaul its blasphemy laws
with a view to repealing them, saying they were being used to target Christians
and other minorities.
Bibi is
waiting for the final ruling of the Supreme Court.
Her case is
set to go back to trial in May.
During the
recent Easter celebration, Bibi asked Pope Francis to pray for her. Several
months earlier, she had sent him a letter.
Pope
Francis is widely seen as a champion of the poor and marginalised.
In 2010,
his predecessor Benedict XVI had publicly called for Bibi's release.
While
Francis has not made such a plea, he has called for the end of persecution of
Christians in Pakistan and everywhere else.
Blasphemy
is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often
prompting mob violence.
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