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Asia Bibi's husband pleads for a pardon

She was found guilty of making derogatory comments about the Prophet Mohammed in November 2010, after a row with Muslim co-workers.

They had refused to drink from a water well she had touched because she was not Muslim.

Over the past four years, the mother-of-five has launched several appeals against her sentence.

Her conviction has been strongly criticised by the international community, including Christian organisations and human rights groups.

In a recent public letter, published by the New York Times, her husband said their only hope now was an official pardon from Mamnoon Hussain, the country's president.

Ashiq Masih has pleaded for his wife to be released and to be allowed to move to France.

He added that his family had always lived in peace alongside their Muslim neighbours, but that the situation in Pakistan "had changed".

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is among the organisations calling for Asia Bibi's release.

The charity has criticised the Pakistan's blasphemy laws, with CSW's Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston saying she "should never have been charged in the first place."

He added that her sentence "is a tragic reminder of the continued abuse of the blasphemy laws and the underlying weaknesses in Pakistan's justice system.

"Deeply-rooted problems of prejudice, inefficiency, corruption, and under-resourcing are amplified in blasphemy cases, and even more so for religious minorities.

He argues that "as a prisoner, Asia Bibi's experience behind bars is made worse by the fact that she is a Christian, a woman and a blasphemy defendant", which carries a heavy stigma in the country.

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