Affronts to humanity

The case of Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman sentenced to death under Pakistan's 'blasphemy' laws, and the 4 January assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who supported her and advocated amendment of these laws, has re-focused attention on this three-decade-old legislation. During those years, a substantial number of victims of these laws have been sent to death row (though no executions have actually taken place) by the lower courts, while many elderly individuals, including women, have also been forced to languish in prison while awaiting related trials or appeals. From half a dozen cases in 1992, the year after the bill's passage, over 4000 individuals currently find themselves accused under these laws. 

In another case, a woman, Razia Bibi, was forced to remain in detention without trial for nearly a decade and half. Eventually, an activist who learned of her ordeal moved the Lahore High Court; when the chief justice subsequently ordered her release, he made special note that the case had been an 'affront to humanity'. Such incidents could be drastically minimised if civil-society organisations were accorded access to Pakistani prisons. While Pakistan's representative claimed before the UN Human Rights Council in late 2010 that such access was available, in fact it is only top bureaucrats who are generally allowed to do so. This is a significant problem, given the highly contentious use of this legislation to detain people; only if civil-society organisations have such access can they effectively take up the cases.