Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi Sentenced to Death By Hanging

A Pakistani Christian woman who allegedly insulted the prophet Mohammad has reportedly been sentenced to hanging for blasphemy.

46-year-old Asia Bibi has been the focus of international media since 2009, when she allegedly got into a scuffle with local Muslim women at a drinking well in her hometown in the Punjab Province. The Muslim women accused Bibi of dirtying the drinking water because she was Christian, and then the women claimed Bibi insulted Mohammed in response.

The 46-year-old mother of five reportedly appealed her case against the death sentence, but lost the appeal and now faces the death penalty by hanging. She is reportedly now seeking to appeal her case to the country's Supreme Court.

Although the case has garnered international outrage, Gulam Mustafa, the prosecution lawyer, argued Bibi's attorney failed to prove her innocence in court.

"Asia's lawyer tried to prove that the case was registered on a personal enmity but he failed to prove that," Mustafa told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

Others have called on Pakistani leaders to speak on behalf of Bibi so her case may be pardoned. Salmaan Taseer, the governor of the Punjab Province and a political proponent of Bibi, told the New York Times that he hopes Bibi will be pardoned soon, within the coming week.

"I hope the president will pardon Asia in a day or two," Taseer told the NY Times.