Pakistani court may hear blasphemy trial of Christian mother in June

The Supreme Court of Pakistan may hear the blasphemy case of Asia Bibi in June after it was postponed last year because one of the three judges decided to quit the bench.

Bibi was sentenced to death by a court in the district of Nankana in 2010 after her Muslim co-workers accused her of insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad back in 2009, The Christian Post reported.

The Christian mother took her case to the country's Supreme Court after the two-member bench of Lahore High Court upheld the death sentence in 2014.

Her appeal was postponed in October 2016 when Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman retired from the case because he said he was also a part of the bench in the case of the murder of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, who was assassinated in 2011 for his support of Bibi.

Saiful Malook, Bibi's lawyer, said that the "the request to reopen the hearing was submitted to the President of the Supreme Court of Pakistan last week" and that the case could resume in the first week of June.

"The case continues to be postponed due to the problems of this country. We are in the midst of a continuing war between Islam and Kufr (infidels). But our hopes for her release are many," the lawyer added.

David Curry, president and CEO for advocacy group Open Doors USA, said that Bibi has lived under daily threats from extremists, fellow prisoners, and even prison guards.

Khalil Tahir Sandhu, one of Bibi's defense attorneys, said that her faith remains strong despite the threats.

"Right now she is behind bars. She has not seen, unfortunately, the Sun or the Moon this year," Sandhu said, as reported by Christians In Pakistan.

"She is very, very strong in her faith. There were so many attempts to convert her but she said 'no – I will remain faithful' and she has remained faithful," he narrated.

Dozens of people have died in extrajudicial killings resulting from blasphemy cases in Pakistan since 1990. Although Pakistani law does not specifically define blasphemy, it stipulates that the punishment is death.

Persecution watchdog groups have pointed to Bibi's case as "the best example" of how blasphemy laws can be abused and numerous organizations have launched campaigns calling for her freedom.

In April, U.S. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Chris Coons (D-De.) introduced a joint resolution calling on the Pakistani government to release Bibi.