Asia Bibi appeal postponed for a fifth time

Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi is facing death for blasphemy(Photo: Voice of the Martyrs)

Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman who has been sentenced to death, has had her appeal postponed again.

Bibi was due to appeal her death sentence for blasphemy today (May 27) but, as with the last four occasions, it has been cancelled.

No new date has been set.

Bibi, a mother of five, has been in prison since 2010. The accusation of blasphemy followed a heated dispute with Muslim colleagues.

Blasphemy is a serious crime in Muslim-majority Pakistan and carries the death sentence, but human rights groups say the charges are often trumped up as a means of settling personal scores and vendettas.

Anyone accused of blasphemy in Pakistan faces threats to their life from extremists. Relatives often have to go into hiding to escape the same fate, and being behind bars doesn't make the accused any safer.