Asia Bibi: Pakistan acquits Christian woman sentenced to death


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Asia Bibi

Legend

The case of Asia Bibi had been extremely controversial in Pakistan's religious conservative

A Christian woman sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy won her appeal and was acquitted in a landmark decision.

Asia Bibi was sentenced in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad with her neighbors.

She has always maintained her innocence, but has spent most of the last eight years in solitary confinement.

It is generally expected that his acquittal will trigger protests in Pakistan, where laws are strongly supported.

The capital, Islamabad, enjoys high security and fears violence. Extremist religious clerics have called on their followers to take to the streets.

Chief Justice Saqib Nisar read the decision to the Islambad Supreme Court.

"The appeal is allowed, it has been acquitted, the judgment of the high court and the court of appeal has been reversed and its sentence set aside."

Critics say that Pakistan's blasphemy laws have often been used to avenge personal conflicts and that convictions are based on thin evidence.

Bibi's case gained notoriety when a regional governor, Salman Taseer, who had appealed for clemency, was murdered in a public square in Islamabad by his own bodyguard.

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