Madrid, Spain, Feb 22, 2011 / 22:10 pm
Speaking from the Sheikhupura Prison near Lahore, Pakistan, Asia Bibi, the first Christian woman condemned to death under the country’s Blasphemy Law, is reiterating her innocence and says she trusts “God will hear my prayers and will help me get out of here and get back home to my family.”
In an interview published Feb. 20 by the Spanish daily, El Pais, Bibi recalls the beginning of her calvary and maintains that she is innocent of charges of committing blasphemy.
“One day I complained to a tax collector because he was allowing his animals to run free and they were damaging my house. He insulted me, and from then on he began a campaign against me,” Asia says.
A few days later, during her job as a farm worker, she offered a drink of water to her co-workers. “They told me they could not drink from the same jug as a Christian, and we began to argue, but I never blasphemed,” she insists, noting that five days later she was accused of blasphemy and taken to prison.