Asia Bibi freed, Austrian woman convicted of denigrating Islam
by Ann Farmer, MercatorNet:
Europe is enslaved to new blasphemy laws.
[…] The court delayed releasing its verdict for three weeks while extraordinary security measures were put in place owing to threats by blasphemy campaigners to protest any acquittal and kill the judges. This is far from an empty threat, since in 2011 Punjabi Governor Salmaan Taseer was murdered after defending Mrs Bibi and calling for a reform of the blasphemy laws, which are often used by aggrieved individuals to settle personal scores and, in Asia Bibi’s case, to persecute Christians.
Also murdered in 2011 was the first Pakistani Minister for Minorities, Catholic convert Shahbaz Bhatti, who spoke up for Mrs Bibi.
But in an ironic coincidence, as Asia Bibi was being acquitted of blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed, the European Court of Human Rights, whose rulings are legally binding upon all EU, including the UK, ruled that criticism of Mohammed can no longer be regarded as protected free speech but constitutes incitement to hatred.
With its unprecedented decision, the ECHR — which has jurisdiction over 47 European countries — has effectively legitimized an Islamic blasphemy code. This no doubt is seen by “progressives” as essential to preserving the peace of Europe, although the case was not based on the prosecution of a rabble-rouser, but involved a series of lectures given by an Austrian woman, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff.
In the same year that Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti were murdered, Ms Sabaditsch-Wolff was convicted of “denigrating of religious beliefs of a legally recognised religion.”
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