PAKISTAN
Waiting To Exhale
Asia Bibi, the Christian Pakistani woman who was acquitted of blasphemy charges last month, is seeking asylum in the Netherlands amid pressure from the extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik to review the decision and prevent her from leaving Pakistan.
For the time being, Bibi is legally free to leave the country, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman said Thursday, CNN reported. She has been moved from her jail cell to an undisclosed location where she is waiting to leave the country with her family, according to a spokesperson for Italy’s Aid to the Church in Need.
An asylum application was submitted for Bibi, her husband and two daughters in the Netherlands, said attorney Saiful Malook, who arrived there from Pakistan earlier this week. But Dutch authorities said that Bibi can only file an application for asylum from within the Netherlands.
Bibi was sentenced to death in 2010 after she was accused of defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed during an argument with Muslim colleagues. Violent protests orchestrated by the TLP broke out following the Supreme Court decision to reverse the verdict.
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