"A 50-year old Christian woman on death row in Pakistan for alleged blasphemy is in urgent need of medical treatment, her family say.
Asia Bibi is suffering from intestinal bleeding, The Global Dispatch reports. Relatives visited her for the first time in a month at the end of May and found that she was "so weak she can hardly walk".
"When vomiting there is also shown traces of blood, Asia has difficulty feeding properly, while constant pain in the chest. Therefore, it is necessary that Asia Bibi be submitted as soon as possible a full medical check-up, including blood work," a source told the website.
Bibi's lawyers are said to be working to get her the treatment she needs.
Found guilty of blasphemy in November 2010, Bibi has been imprisoned for five years and is currently on death row. She continues to deny accusations that she insulted the Prophet Muhammad – charges levelled at her by former colleagues.
Human rights groups say that Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws are frequently misused by extremists, and false charges brought against Christians in order to settle personal scores or to seize property or businesses. Bibi's case made global headlines when two prominent politicians were assassinated after trying to help her."
Speaking to the BBC earlier this year, her husband, Ashiq Massih, said that he and the couple's five children have been in hiding ever since Bibi was first arrested. "We get death threats. We can't stay in one place very long," he said." World
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Matthew 5:11