Rome’s ancient Colosseum was lit up in red on Saturday in solidarity with persecuted Christians worldwide. Hundreds gathered on a rainy night outside the Roman amphitheatre that is a symbol of the martyrdom of early Christians to hear the husband and daughter of Asia Bibi speak, a woman condemned to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. The Catholic woman has been living on death row in Pakistan since 2010, when she was condemned for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim.

European Parliament president Antonio Tajani, who has been tipped as a possible Italian prime minister after next week’s election, said that persecution of Christians was “a genocide”. “A message must be sent from this place. It is the duty of Europe to defend these values [of religious liberty] wherever on earth they are trampled on,” said Mr Tajani. Rebecca Bitrus, a Nigerian Christian woman who was held for two years after she was abducted by Boko Haram Islamist militants, told of how she was repeatedly beaten and raped. During the event, organised by Catholic group Aid to the Church in Need, there were live link-ups with Aleppo, Syria and Mosul, Iraq, both of whose minority Christian populations have been hit hard by wars.