[DAWN] ON July 22, the Supreme Court admitted Aasia Bibi's appeal against her conviction and death sentence for blasphemy under Section 295-C of the Pakistain Penal Code. The court's decision to hear the case is welcome; even more welcome would be a hearing, scheduled as soon as possible.Even if the SC now goes on to acquit Aasia Bibi, she has already spent six years (and counting) in prison (four years on death row); Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti have bit the dust for advocating for her release; and her family has been subjected to continuous threats and harassment, only because of their relationship with someone accused of blasphemy.
This is the truth of how the blasphemy law operates in Pakistain: the accused have to suffer prolonged periods of pretrial detention as they wait for their case to be heard, which in some instances is followed by years in death row cells before their appeals are decided. Delays in trial are common for a variety of offences across the criminal justice system; however, since blasphemy allegations come with a very real danger of extrajudicial killings and attacks in and outside of prison, the anguish of blasphemy accused is further enhanced because of the fear for their lives and their family's safety. Additionally, since more than 95pc of blasphemy accused are eventually acquitted, the prolonged periods of detention mean innocent people are deprived of their liberty for many years.