Baptist Press | Oct. 23, 2018
Security is the only reason Pakistan’s Supreme Court is delaying its ruling in an Oct. 8 appeal of Christian mother Asia Bibi’s blasphemy conviction, a religious liberty expert told Baptist Press.
“There’s only one reason, security,” said Shaheryar Gill, senior litigation counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). “Generally the Supreme Court announces decisions the same day. In politically high-profile cases, or in these type security cases, these are the only times when the court doesn’t announce.
“And they don’t even take that long actually, but this time it seems like they’re taking a little bit longer,” said Gill, who checks the court’s website daily for updates and is in touch with the ACLJ’s office in Pakistan.
“If she’s acquitted she is obviously going to need a lot of security…, security provided by the government,” Gill told BP today (Oct. 23). “And she cannot be released openly. If she is, there’s no doubt, no question about it, that her life will be in jeopardy. They feel proud of killing somebody like this.”