Pakistan Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy will have to leave country for her own safety
A Christian woman acquitted in Pakistan after eight years on death row for blasphemy, plans to leave the country.
Asia Bibi’s brother said she would leave Pakistan after her formal release from an undisclosed place where she is being held for security reasons.
James Masih said his sister is not safe in Pakistan and that paperwork for her release and departure to an unspecified country was being processed.
Among the countries to offer asylum include France and Spain.
Her lawyer has also said she would have to move abroad for her own safety.
The explosive case has set off violent protests by hardliners in the country who support strong blasphemy laws.
The Pakistan Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Bibi’s 2010 conviction for insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, during a row with neighbours.
She has always claimed she was innocent.
However, she has spent the last eight years in jail, much of it in solitary confinement.
The mother-of-four was the first woman in Pakistan to be sentenced to death under the country’s blasphemy laws.
Her family are expected to leave the country with her after she is released.
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Since 1990, at least 65 people have reportedly been killed in Pakistan over claims of blasphemy, reports the BBC.
Her acquittal raised fears of violence as religious extremists hold angry protests over the verdict, blocking roads and rallying for the second day on Thursday.
There have already been demonstrations in Karachi and Lahore.
Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan has appealed for calm.
In a television broadcast he said extremists were ‘inciting’ the situation and added that they were ‘doing no service to Islam’.
Asia Bibi is expected to be released from prison imminently.
