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Pakistan: Asia Bibi leaves her country after blasphemy acquittal

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 08 May 2019

Pakistan: Asia Bibi leaves her country after blasphemy acquittal

Islamabad:  Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was acquitted by the Supreme Court in a blasphemy case last year, has left the south Asian nation to live in Canada where she has been reunited with her family, media reports said.

Asia Bibi has flown to Canada where she has a reunion with her family, her lawyer told mediapersons.

Asia had spent years on death row after being convicted of blasphemy until she was released by the apex court of Pakistan.

The court had overturned her conviction last year. She spent nine years in jail.

"Asia Bibi has left the country. She is a free person and travelled on her independent will," source in the Pakistan Foreign Office told Dawn News.

As per Dawn News report, after she was released from a Multan women's prison on November 7 last year, she was flown to Islamabad via special aircraft, and then taken to an undisclosed location amid tight security.

According to a report published by BBC, she was originally convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a row with her neighbours.

Pakistani officials have not named the place where Asia is staying.

Her lawyer Saif ul Malook told the BBC she had already arrived in Canada, where two of her daughters are understood to have been granted asylum. 

Image courtesy hamariweb screenshot