Lawyer of Asia Bibi flees Pakistan in fear for his life

A mass rally in protest at the decision to free Asia Bibi
AFP/Getty Images
Asher McShane3 November 2018

The lawyer of a Christian woman who spent eight years on death row after being falsely accused of blasphemy has fled Pakistan in fear for his life.

Saif Mulook said he had to leave so he could continue to represent Asia Bibi, whose conviction was overturned by judges on Wednesday.

Mr Mulook told the BBC earlier this week she would need to move to a Western country for her own safety.

Several countries have offered her asylum, however Pakistan's government has capitulated after days of protests by hardline Islamists and blocked her from leaving the country.

Pakistani Islamists struck a deal with the government that Bibi must not leave Pakistan until the Supreme Court's ruling is reviewed.

EPA

The deal led to an end to mass protests in the country

Supporters of Pakistan's religious hardline party Jamiat Ulema Islam torch a poster of Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan 
AFP/Getty Images

Religious Affairs Minister Noorul Haq Qadri announced that authorities will now not allow Bibi to leave the country until the Supreme Court makes a final review of its verdict. A petition had already been filed for the review.

Authorities place shipping containers to try and stop protesters from entering the capital
AP

Bibi had been on death row since 2009 after an argument with a group of women.

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.

Asia Bibi was told by the women that she should convert to Islam. She was alleged to have made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in response.

She was arrested following a police probe but the Supreme Court ruled the evidence against her was 'flimsy'

The case underpins Pakistan's legal system with hardline politicians backing the death penalty for blasphemy, however critics say the law is often used to get personal revenge.

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