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The Pakistani Foreign Ministry has denied reports that Asia Bibi, a Christian acquitted of blasphemy last week, has left the country.
Bibi was released from prison on November 7, according to his lawyer, Saiful Mulook, and the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani.
"Asia Bibi left the prison and was moved to a safe place!" Tajani tweeted on November 7th. "I thank the Pakistani authorities and look forward to meeting her and her family in the European Parliament as soon as possible."
Mulook reportedly said that Bibi was flown from his immediate family to Pakistan but he did not know where they were going.
On November 8, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal told the media: "There is no truth in the reports that she left the country – this is false information."
Unidentified security officials said Bibi was released from a prison in Multan, a town in Punjab province, in the south of the country, and was taken by plane to an undisclosed location in Islamabad. , for fear of being attacked, according to the Associated Press and Reuters.
Bibi, whose real name was Aasiya Noreen, had spent eight years on death row for insulting the Prophet Muhammad of Islam before the Supreme Court overturned his conviction on Oct. 31, sparking violent protests by Islamists. extremists demanding its execution.
In an agreement reached with the radical Tehrik-e Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, the government announced on Nov. 3 that it would ban Bibi from traveling abroad while waiting for him. a "review" of the Supreme Court's decision to acquit him.
Bibi, a mother of five, denied the blasphemy charges against her.
Her husband, Ashiq Masih, pleaded for asylum from western countries, claiming that his family was in great danger in Pakistan. His lawyer, Mulook, escaped to the Netherlands.
On November 6, Italian officials said they were using Bibi to transfer to a country where she and her family would be safe from death threats.
"We are working with other Western countries – we have to do it with discretion and caution," Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini told an Italian radio station.
Insulting Islam is punishable by death in Pakistan, and the mere rumor of blasphemy can lead to lynching by mobs.
With reports from AFP, AP, Reuters and the BBC
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