The lawyer of the Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy, said Bibi and her husband had arrived in Canada. He did not disclose the exact time of her departure and how she had left Pakistan, citing security reasons.
Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who spent eight years on death row on blasphemy charges in Pakistan, has arrived in Canada with her husband, German media reported Friday, quoting her lawyer.
“She is united with her family”, Bibi’s lawyer Saif-ul-Malook told the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. DW was not able to immediately confirm the development.
Bibi’s two daughters are already living in Canada.
The lawyer did not disclose any further details about Bibi’s departure from Pakistan, citing security reasons. It was previously reported that Bibi could not leave her native country aboard a regular flight.
Bibi was arrested in June 2009 after her neighbors complained she had insulted Prophet Muhammad. A year later, she was sentenced to death despite strong opposition from human rights groups.
Read more: The case of Asia Bibi in Pakistan
Threat from Islamists
The news comes just days after Pakistan’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal against its October decision to acquit her.
She had been living under the “protective custody” of Pakistani authorities since her release from prison in November.
Bibi’s acquittal on October 31 had led to violent protests by hardline Islamists.
The Tehreek-e-Labbaik party, which petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse its earlier ruling, had called for new rallies after the top court this week rejected its petition.
But nationwide rallies the extremists had called for on Friday mostly fizzled, barring some violence in the southern port city of Karachi.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Bibi’s lawyer Saif-ul-Malook was still in Pakistan. He had returned to the country shortly before the final Supreme Court hearing after spending months abroad due to death threats.
“I’m in my apartment, I’m not going to my office,” he told this newspaper.
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