Out of prison, Asia Bibi in grave danger

Pakistani authorities on Wednesday released Asia Bibi, the Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy, from detention but she remains stranded in the country as hard-line Islamists demand of her death. The Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned her 2010 death sentence on Oct. 31, saying prosecutors failed to prove she violated the country’s blasphemy law.

Officials transported Bibi from an undisclosed facility in southern Punjab province to Islamabad, the capital city, Wednesday night as she faced increased security threats. Her lawyer, Saiful Mukook, who fled the country after the ruling, told Reuters she is no longer in prison. “All I can tell you is she has been released,” said Mukook, who is currently seeking asylum in the Netherlands. Since the ruling, thousands of Islamists have rallied across the country calling for Bibi’s execution. Italy has offered to help relocate Bibi and her family, but she likely will have to remain in the country as courts process an appeal to her acquittal filed by a Muslim attorney.