Asia Bibi, the Pakistani mother of five sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy, gave an interview in Sheikpura women's prison in Punjab on 11 December 2011.

Asia Bibi, the Christian woman sentenced to death on blasphemy charges, has been beaten by a prison officer assigned to provide security for her. She did not receive any life-threatening injuries.

Christian girl Faryal Bhatti (13) was expelled from school last week and her family forced to move after her misspelling of an Urdu word led to accusations of blasphemy.

Faryal, from the northeastern city of Abbottabad, was taking an Urdu exam on Thursday 22 September. While answering a question on a poem in praise of the prophet Muhammad, she wrote laanat, meaning "curse", instead of naat, meaning a poem written in praise of Muhammad.

Joanna Tuffy TD (pictured) joined a Church in Chains delegation yesterday to present a petition to the Pakistani Embassy in Dublin seeking the release of Asia Bibi, the Christian mother-of-five sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Christians in Pakistan have expressed grave concerns about the direction of the police investigation into the murder of Minister for Minorities, Shabhaz Bhatti, a Roman Catholic, who was assassinated in March 2011.

The case of Asia Bibi (45), the Christian mother-of-five sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, is still on hold.

The blasphemy charge, which Asia has denied, arose in June 2009 after a dispute involving Muslim women who refused to drink from the same water bowl as Asia. When she challenged the women, they accused her of blasphemy. She was arrested, tried and found guilty. Asia was sentenced to death in November 2010.

All 70 people accused of killing Christians in Gojra, Punjab in August 2009 have been acquitted by a Faisalabad Anti-Terrorism court.

According to the court, the acquittal, on 2 June 2011, was due to the absence of witnesses in the courtroom and the lack of evidence against the accused. Sources in Lahore said, "Christian witnesses were under constant threats meant to force them to withdraw their accusations."

Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi (pictured), one of the leaders of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Assembly of Islamic Clergy) political party, has demanded that the Supreme Court of Pakistan ban the Bible, claiming that blasphemous portions have been added.

Asia Bibi (45) the Christian farm labourer sentenced to death under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, has been visited in prison by her 12-year-old daughter, Isham, who brought her a bouquet of flowers. The emotional visit meant much to Asia who feels very lonely in prison and greatly misses her family.