Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Asia Bibi's escape from Pakistan death row

Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row, has been freed from prison.

Last week's Supreme Court ruling sparked violent protests from Islamists and the government agreed to their demand to stop her leaving Pakistan.

News of her release led to some confusion, with reports she had been taken to another country.

But the foreign office later said she was still in Pakistan.

The case is highly sensitive and Information Minister Fawad Hussein said journalists had been "extremely irresponsible" in reporting she had left the country without official confirmation.

Those reports were based on comments from her lawyer, Saiful Malook, who has been granted temporary asylum in the Netherlands after facing death threats.

Asia Bibi's husband had said they were in danger and pleaded for asylum. A number of Western countries are understood to have held discussions with Asia Bibi's family about granting them asylum.

The mother-of-five was released from prison in the city of Multan on Wednesday and the foreign office says she is in "a safe place in Pakistan".

Also known as Asia Noreen, she was convicted in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours.

The Pakistani government has said it will start legal proceedings to prevent her going abroad after agreeing the measure to end the violent protests.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Asia Bibi's acquittal sparked protests by Islamists

Many of the protesters were hardliners who support strong blasphemy laws and called for Asia Bibi to be hanged.

One Islamist leader said all three Supreme Court judges also "deserved to be killed".

A spokesman for the hardline Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party, which blocked roads in major cities for several days, said Asia Bibi's release was in breach of their deal with the government.

"The rulers have showed their dishonesty," TLP spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi told Reuters.

The deal also saw officials agree not to block a petition for the Supreme Court to evaluate Asia Bibi's acquittal in the light of Islamic Sharia law.

What was Asia Bibi accused of?

The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi had with a group of women in June 2009.

They were harvesting fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water. The women said that because she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it, as her faith had made it unclean.

Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to Islam and that she made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response.

She was later beaten up at her home, during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation.

Acquitting her, the Supreme Court said that the case was based on unreliable evidence and her confession was delivered in front of a crowd "threatening to kill her".

Why is this case so divisive?

Islam is Pakistan's national religion and underpins its legal system. Public support for the strict blasphemy laws is strong.

Hard-line politicians have often backed severe punishments, partly as a way of shoring up their support base.

But critics say the laws have often been used to exact revenge after personal disputes, and that convictions are based on thin evidence.

The vast majority of those convicted are Muslims or members of the Ahmadi community who identify themselves as Muslims but are regarded as heretical by orthodox Islam. Since the 1990s scores of Christians have also been convicted. They make up just 1.6% of the population.

The Christian community has been targeted by numerous attacks in recent years, leaving many feeling vulnerable to a climate of intolerance.

Since 1990, at least 65 people have reportedly been killed in Pakistan over claims of blasphemy.</s>Asia Bibi, Pakistani Woman Acquitted Of Blasphemy, Is Freed From Jail

Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman acquitted days ago of blasphemy, has been freed from jail after spending more than eight years in solitary confinement awaiting execution.

The acquittal of Bibi, who is Catholic, was announced just over a week ago by Pakistan's Supreme Court, which said her accusers had not definitively proved her guilt. She was permitted to leave jail immediately after the verdict, but her release was delayed after protests from an extremist religious group, demanding she be killed.

Citing officials, the BBC reports that Bibi left her detention facility in Punjab province under heavy security on Wednesday and was flown to a secure location in Islamabad.

Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 and sentenced to death. The conviction stemmed from an argument with her fellow Muslim farm workers. They accused her of being impure by virtue of her faith and claimed she insulted Islam.

Her case galvanized the country's religious right and sparked international concern over human rights and religious freedom in Pakistan, which is overwhelmingly Muslim.

As her conviction was reversed, "followers of a hard-line Pakistani religious group rushed onto major roads across the country to paralyze traffic in protest of the decision," according to NPR's Islamabad-based correspondent Diaa Hadid.

The mobs demanded Bibi, as well as the three Supreme Court judges who acquitted her, be killed.

The Italian government said earlier this week it would help Bibi and her family relocate. Several other Western countries have also offered her asylum. In the past, both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have advocated for her.</s>A Pakistani Christian woman has been freed from prison a week after the Supreme Court overturned her conviction and death sentence for blasphemy against Islam, and she is at a secure location in the country, officials said on Thursday. Officials dismissed some media reports that the woman, Asia Bibi, had been flown abroad, which would enrage hardline Islamists who have been protesting against her release and calling for her to be banned from leaving.

The release overnight of the mother of five prompted immediate anger from an Islamist party that has threatened to paralyse the country with street protests if her acquittal is not reversed. Bibi, 53, was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 over allegations she made derogatory remarks about Islam after neighbours objected to her drinking water from their glass because she was not Muslim. She always denied having committed blasphemy.

The case has outraged Christians worldwide, and Pope Francis met Bibi’s family this year, saying he prayed for her. Italy said on Tuesday it would try to help Bibi, who is Catholic, to leave Pakistan. Pakistan’s foreign ministry denied reports that Bibi had left the country and pointed out that a review of the Supreme Court decision to free her was pending.

“Asia Bibi is completely secure at a safe place in Pakistan,” said ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal. “Her writ is in court, when that is decided, Asia Bibi can go anywhere she wants to, she is a free national … if she wants to go abroad, no harm in it.” In Rome, the Catholic aid agency Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) said Bibi has been able to see her husband in an undisclosed location. Their daughters were “close by” but had not yet seen their mother as of early afternoon, Pakistan time.

The agency, which arranged a meeting for Bibi’s husband and daughter with Pope Francis at the Vatican this year, said the family was awaiting visas but declined to disclose from which country for security reasons. Insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammad carries a mandatory death penalty in Pakistan, which is about 95 percent Muslim and has among the harshest blasphemy laws in the world.

No executions for blasphemy have been carried out in Pakistan but enraged mobs sometimes kill people accused of blasphemy. Rights groups say the blasphemy law is exploited by hardliners as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores. Christians make up about 2 percent of the population.

Security officials told Reuters early on Thursday that Bibi had been released from a prison in Multan, a city in the south of Punjab province. She was flown to Islamabad and was in protective custody because of threats to her life, said three officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. Bibi’s lawyer, who has fled Pakistan and this week sought asylum in the Netherlands, confirmed she was no longer in prison.

“All I can tell you is that she has been released,” lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook told Reuters by phone from the Netherlands, where the government said on Thursday it had offered him temporary asylum. A spokesman for the hard-line Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party, which took to the streets after the Supreme Court ruling, said her release violated a deal with the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to end the protests.

“The TLP activists are agitated as the government has breached the agreement with our party. The rulers have showed their dishonesty,” party spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi told Reuters. Under the deal, the government said it would not block a petition to the Supreme Court to review Bibi’s acquittal in light of sharia, Islamic religious law, the TLP said. It also said the government promised to work to ensure Bibi could not leave the country. If the government allows Bibi to leave, it would likely face more paralysing protests from the TLP and other Islamist parties.</s>Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan last week, has been freed from prison, her lawyer says.

"I have been told that she is on a plane, but nobody knows where she will land," lawyer Saiful Mulook said on November 7 in a message sent to the AFP news agency.

The Associated Press quoted unidentified government officials as saying Bibi left a detention facility in Punjab Province, where she was detained, and was flown to an undisclosed location in the capital, Islamabad.

Bibi had spent eight years on death row for allegedly insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad before Pakistan's Supreme Court overturned her conviction on October 31, triggering violent protests by hard-line Islamists calling for her execution.

In a deal with the hard-line Tehrik-e Labaik (TLP) party that ended the protests, the Pakistani government on November 3 indicated that it will bar Bibi from traveling abroad pending a "review" of the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit her.

Bibi's husband, Ashiq Masih, has pleaded for asylum from Western countries, saying his family is in great danger in Pakistan.

Mulook, her lawyer, fled to The Netherlands.

Bibi, a mother of five, has denied the blasphemy charges against her.

Insulting Islam is punishable by death in Pakistan, and the mere rumor of blasphemy can lead to lynchings by mobs.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP</s>The lawyer who helped Asia Bibi, a Christian woman freed from jail after Pakistan’s top court overturned her death sentence in a blasphemy case, was offered a temporary asylum in the Netherlands on Thursday after he fled from Pakistan fearing for the safety of his family. Lawyer Saiful Mulook defended Asia Bibi who spent 8 years on death row until being acquitted on Wednesday.

This has come a day after Asia Bibi was released from Multan jail. There were reports that she was taken to Noor Khan Airbase Rawalpindi from where she was supposed to fly to the Netherlands, however, earlier today Pakistani authorities refuted these reports, saying she has not left for the Netherlands and was in Pakistan.

WHAT IS THE ENTIRE CASE?

Aisa Bibi is the second Pakistani Christian who was sentenced to death under country’s blasphemy laws under section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code for defaming Prophet Mohammad. The offence if proven carries the mandatory death penalty under the law.

The case dates back to 2009 when as per Asia she entered into a quarrel with Mafia and Asma, both are eyewitnesses in the case and deposed to Asia making blasphemous remarks. The argument started when both the women refused to drink water brought by Asia Bibi because she was Christian. The two, Mafia and Asma along with a local cleric, Qari Mohammad Salaam later filed the case of blasphemy against her.

A trial court convicted Asia Bibi for blasphemy in November 2010 and sentenced her to death, but the order was suspended by the Supreme Court in 2015.

In 2018, the Supreme Court gave the final verdict acquitting Asia from all charges.

The case attracted international coverage and became a high profile one when two officials, former Punjab governor Salman Taseer and former Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti (a Christian) were assassinated for taking Asia’s side publicly.</s>A Pakistani Christian woman who spent eight years on death row for blasphemy has been freed from jail a week after her acquittal in a landmark case triggered angry Islamist protests, her lawyer said Thursday.

Asia Bibi's conviction was overturned by the country's highest court last Wednesday, but she remained in prison as the government negotiated with hardliners who blockaded major cities and demanded her immediate execution.

"She has been freed," lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook said in a text message to AFP. "I have been told that she is on a plane but nobody knows where she will land."

According to a civil aviation official, the aircraft which collected Bibi from jail is registered in Pakistan and is therefore obliged to land in Islamabad.

Following protests at last week's ruling, the government agreed in a deal with Islamists to impose a travel ban on Bibi, and not to challenge an appeal in the Supreme Court.

An order for her release arrived Wednesday at the jail in the central city of Multan where she was detained, a prison official told AFP.

"Asia Bibi has left the prison and has been transferred to a safe place!" tweeted Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament.

Another civil aviation official, in Multan, said a small plane arrived in the city with "a few foreigners and some Pakistanis" on board to fetch Bibi.

Her case has underscored deep divisions between traditionalists and modernisers in the devoutly Muslim country.

The conviction stemmed from a 2009 incident when Bibi was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields.

Muslim women labourers objected to her touching the water bowl as a non-Muslim, and a fight reportedly erupted.

Bibi has consistently denied the charges, and her prosecution rallied international rights groups, politician, and religious figures.

Pope Benedict XVI called for her release in 2010, while his successor, Pope Francis, met the prisoner's daughter in 2015.

Bibi's husband Ashiq Masih has appealed for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum, while her lawyer has fled to the Netherlands.

Several governments including Italy and France have offered to help.

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted: "I will do everything humanly possible to guarantee this young woman's future."

Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unsubstantiated allegations of insulting Islam can result in death at the hands of mobs.

Mere calls to reform the law have provoked violence, most notably the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, by his own bodyguard in broad daylight in Islamabad in 2011.

Taseer had called for Bibi's release, and his son Shahbaz tweeted "Pakistan Zindabad" ("Long live Pakistan") following last week's ruling.

Thousands of Islamist hardliners poured onto the streets in protest after Supreme Court judges overturned Bibi's conviction last Wednesday.

Demonstrations broke out in major cities across Pakistan in the ruling's wake, with club-wielding protesters blocking Islamabad's main highway and barricading roads in Karachi and Lahore.

One of the most vocal groups -- the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) -- called for "mutiny" against the army's top brass and the assassination of the top court's justices.

Mulook and Pakistani media criticised the government for caving in to the Islamist hardliners after Prime Minister Imran Khan had at first appeared to stand up to them.</s>Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row for blasphemy, has been freed from jail, her lawyer said Thursday.

The country's highest court last week overturned Bibi's conviction and ordered her release, but she had remained incarcerated as the government agreed to allow a review following Islamist protests over the bitterly divisive case.

"She has been freed. I have been told that she is on a plane but nobody knows where she will land," lawyer Saif-ul-Malook said in a message sent to AFP.

A release order arrived Wednesday at the prison in the central city of Multan, where Bibi was detained, a prison official told AFP.

Her husband Ashiq Masih has appealed for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum, while Malook has fled to the Netherlands.

Bibi's case has underscored divisions between traditionalists and modernisers in the devoutly Muslim nation.

It stems from an incident in 2009 when she was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields.

Muslim women labourers objected, saying that as a non-Muslim, she should not touch the water bowl, and reportedly a fight erupted.

A local imam then claimed Bibi insulted the Prophet Mohammed -- a charge she denies.

Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unsubstantiated allegations of insulting Islam can result in death at the hands of mobs.

Thousands of Islamists poured onto the streets in protest after Supreme Court judges overturned Bibi's conviction last Wednesday, causing Prime Minister Imran Khan's administration to sign a controversial deal.</s>A Pakistani Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row has been freed from prison, her lawyer said.

Some reports say Asia Bibi has boarded a plane but its destination was not known, BBC reported on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court ruling sparked protests from Islamists and the government had said it would bar her from leaving Pakistan.

Her husband had said they were in danger and pleaded for asylum.

Also Read: Pakistani Christian woman in limbo despite acquittal by top court

Asia Bibi, a mother-of-five, was released from prison in the city of Multan, her lawyer Saif Mulook said.

Also known as Asia Noreen, she was convicted in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a row with neighbours.

Several countries have offered her asylum.

The Pakistani government has said it will start legal proceedings to prevent her going abroad after agreeing the measure to end the violent protests.

Many of the protesters were hardliners who support strong blasphemy laws and called for Asia Bibi to be hanged.

One Islamist leader said all three Supreme Court judges also “deserved to be killed”.

Also Read: Fearing for life, Asia Bibi’s lawyer flees Pakistan, requests government to protect family

A spokesman for the hardline Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) party said Asia Bibi’s release was in breach of their deal with the government.

“The rulers have showed their dishonesty,” TLP spokesman Ejaz Ashrafi said.

The deal also saw officials agree not to block a petition for the Supreme Court to evaluate Asia Bibi’s acquittal in the light of Islamic Sharia law.

The trial stems from an argument Asia Bibi had with a group of women in June 2009.

They were harvesting fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water. The women said that because she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it, as her faith had made it unclean.

Prosecutors alleged that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to Islam and that she made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response.

She was later beaten up at her home, during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation.

Acquitting her, the Supreme Court said that the case was based on unreliable evidence and her confession was delivered in front of a crowd “threatening to kill her”.</s>Asia Bibi's release comes a week after her acquittal in a landmark case that triggered angry Islamist protests in Muslim-majority Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A Pakistani Christian woman who spent 8 years on death row for blasphemy has been freed from jail and is believed to have already flown out of the city of Multan where she was being held, heading for an unknown destination, her lawyer said Thursday, November 8.

Asia Bibi's release comes a week after her acquittal in a landmark case that triggered angry Islamist protests in Muslim-majority Pakistan and following appeals from her husband for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum. Her lawyer fled to the Netherlands on Saturday, November 3, under threat to his life.

Bibi's conviction was overturned by the country's highest court last Wednesday, November 7, but she remained in prison as the government negotiated with hardliners who blockaded major cities and demanded her immediate execution.

"She has been freed," lawyer Saif-ul-Mulook said in a text message to Agence France-Presse (AFP). "I have been told that she is on a plane but nobody knows where she will land."

According to a civil aviation official, the aircraft that collected Bibi from jail would be required to land in Islamabad but it was unclear if she may have had a connecting flight.

Following protests at last week's ruling, the government agreed in a deal with Islamists to impose a travel ban on Bibi, and not to challenge an appeal in the Supreme Court.

An order for her release arrived Wednesday at the jail in the central city of Multan where she was held, a prison official told AFP.

"Asia Bibi has left the prison and has been transferred to a safe place!" tweeted Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament.

Another civil aviation official, in Multan, said a small plane arrived in the city with "a few foreigners and some Pakistanis" on board to fetch Bibi.

Her case has underscored deep divisions between traditionalists and modernizers in the devoutly Muslim country.

The conviction stemmed from a 2009 incident when Bibi was asked to fetch water while out working in the fields.

Muslim women laborers objected to her touching the water bowl as a non-Muslim, and a fight reportedly erupted.

Bibi has consistently denied the charges, and her prosecution rallied international rights groups, politician, and religious figures.

Pope Benedict XVI called for her release in 2010, while his successor, Pope Francis, met her daughter in 2015.

Bibi's husband Ashiq Masih has appealed for Britain or the United States to grant the family asylum and several governments including those if Italy and France have offered to help.

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tweeted: "I will do everything humanly possible to guarantee this young woman's future."

Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unsubstantiated allegations of insulting Islam can result in death at the hands of mobs.

Mere calls to reform the law have provoked violence, most notably the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, by his own bodyguard in Islamabad in 2011.

Taseer had called for Bibi's release, and his son Shahbaz tweeted "Pakistan Zindabad" ("Long live Pakistan") following last week's ruling.

Thousands of Islamist hardliners poured onto the streets in protest after Supreme Court judges overturned Bibi's conviction last Wednesday.

Demonstrations broke out in major cities across the country in the wake of the ruling, with club-wielding protesters blocking Islamabad's main highway and barricading roads in Karachi and Lahore.

One of the most vocal groups in the protests – the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) – called for "mutiny" against the army's top brass and the assassination of the top court's justices.

In a statement, the TLP termed Bibi's release "against the government agreement."

"The entire atmosphere of Pakistan is in pain and grief after hearing the news about the blasphemer of the holy prophet Asia," it said.

One resident in Multan, Rizwan Khan, told AFP that Bibi would not be safe wherever she went, while another, Qari Muneer, said the decision should be reversed and called for her to receive "strict punishment." – Rappler.com</s>Bibi is no longer allowed to the leave the jail, but her security has reportedly increased, and she is being kept in an undisclosed location.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The husband of the Pakistani Catholic woman who was recently acquitted of blasphemy charges is asking several Western nations to provide asylum for his family, whom he says is in danger of death.

In a video message, Ashiq Masih requested asylum for his family from the U.S., Canada and the U.K. His wife, Asia Bibi, had her death sentence overturned in a high-profile case last week, but riots following the verdict have endangered the lives of the entire family, Masih said.

Bibi was previously found guilty of making disparaging comments against the Islamic prophet Muhammad during an argument with some neighbors. In 2010, she was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death by hanging. Defaming Muhammad carries a mandatory death sentence in Pakistan.

After the Pakistan Supreme Court overturned the verdict on Oct. 31, noting Bibi was free to leave the prison, violent protests erupted throughout the predominantly Muslim country.

In a move to appease the riots, the government made an agreement with the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), the Islamist political party, which coordinated protests against Bibi’s release.

The agreement requested an end to the protests in exchange for the government to review the acquittal and add her name to the country’s “exit control list,” which would bar her from leaving the country. Several arrested protesters were also released.

Bibi is no longer allowed to the leave the jail, but her security has reportedly increased, and she is being kept in an undisclosed location.

Masih told German broadcaster DW that the agreement has sparked fear in his family, noting they have consistently changed locations to hide during this dangerous time. Bibi’s lawyer, Saif Mulook, fled the country on Saturday.

“The agreement has sent a shiver down my spine. My family is frightened, my relatives are frightened, and my friends are also frightened. This agreement should never have been struck,” he said.

He expressed worry that the review of the verdict could be influenced by outside forces, who are heavily pressuring the court to convict Bibi.

“Now during the review petition, the clerics might gather outside the Supreme Court and try to influence the verdict. It is wrong to set a precedent in which you pile pressure onto the judiciary,” he said. “I went to session court, where I could see that the judge was under tremendous pressure to convict Asia.”

“My wife, Asia Bibi, has already suffered greatly. She has spent 10 years in jail. The verdict of the Supreme Court had created a ray of hope; we were excited that we would meet her soon,” he added.

Bibi was accused of making derogatory comments about Muhammad in 2009, when an argument broke out between her and some other farmworkers when they were harvesting berries.

The argument stemmed from Bibi taking a drink of water from a cup that previously had been used by Muslims. An onlooker informed her that she could not do so, as she was “unclean” due to her faith. An argument ensued, and Bibi was then reported to Muslim clerics.

According to the BBC, Bibi was later attacked at her home, where she confessed to blasphemy, her accusers said. However, the Supreme Court said this was inadmissible evidence, as her confession was spoken in front of a mob who threatened to kill her.

Although the government has never executed a person under the blasphemy law, accusations alone have inspired mob and vigilante violence.

Blasphemy laws are reportedly used to settle scores or to persecute religious minorities. Many of those accused of blasphemy are murdered, and advocates of changing the law are also targeted by violence.

Masih told DW: “The situation is dangerous for Asia. I feel that her life is not secure.”
Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi, sentenced to death by hanging in 2010 and recently acquitted, is released from prison. Bibi has reportedly boarded a plane; however, its destination was not known. Several countries have offered her asylum.