[ad_1]
Multimedia playback is not supported on your device
A Pakistani Christian who has been acquitted of blasphemy after eight years on death row has been released from prison, BBC lawyer said.
Saif ul Malook told AFP that Asia Bibi was "in a plane but no one knows where it is landing".
His acquittal sparked protests from Islamists and the government agreed to ban him from leaving the country.
Her husband said that they were running a great danger in Pakistan and pleaded for asylum in the United Kingdom, the United States or Canada.
A prison official told AFP that the order to release her had been sent to the prison in Multan town, where she was being held.
Asia Bibi, also known as Asia Noreen, was found guilty in 2010 of insulting the Prophet Muhammad during a dispute with neighbors.
Several countries offered him asylum.
However, the Pakistani government had declared that it would initiate legal proceedings to prevent it from going abroad.
Copyright of the image
EPA
The acquittal of Asia Bibi sparked protests from Islamists
Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudry told the BBC that security had been strengthened to protect Asia Bibi and insisted that his life was not in danger.
What was Asia Bibi accused of?
The lawsuit arose out of a dispute between Asia Bibi and a group of women in June 2009.
They were picking fruit when a row broke out around a bucket of water. The women said that because she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it because her faith had made her unclean.
Prosecutors said that in the row that followed, the women said that Asia Bibi had to convert to Islam and that she had made offensive remarks about the Prophet Muhammad.
She was later beaten at home, during which her accusers confessed to confessing blasphemy. She was arrested after a police investigation.
In acquiring it, the Supreme Court declared that the case was based on unreliable evidence and that his confession had been delivered before a crowd "threatening to kill her".
Why is this case so divisive?
Islam is the national religion of Pakistan and underpins its legal system. Public support for strict blasphemy laws is strong.
Intransigent politicians have often advocated harsh sentences, in part to strengthen their support base.
- Christians: the "forgotten minority" of Pakistan
- The last hours of a Christian health worker in Pakistan
Critics say, however, that laws have often been used to avenge personal conflicts and that convictions are based on thin evidence.
The vast majority of convicts are Muslims or members of the Ahmadi community, but since the 1990s, many Christians have been convicted. They represent only 1.6% of the population.
The Christian community has been the target of numerous attacks in recent years, leaving a large number of people vulnerable to a climate of intolerance.
Since 1990, at least 65 people were reportedly killed in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy.
