Asia Bibi leaves Pakistan for Canada a free woman

Many people were outraged at the treatment Asia Bibi received in Pakistan and have written letters in support of her.  We have today (12 June 2019) heard that she has been acquitted.

Asia Bibi is a Christian farm worker, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010. After an eight-year ordeal, Pakistan’s Supreme Court acquitted her of all charges and released her in October 2018.  Following the decision by the Supreme Court to uphold her acquittal on 29 January 2019, it was confirmed by the Pakistani Foreign Office on 9 May that she had left Pakistan and safely arrived in Canada to be reunited with her family.

We are extremely grateful to supporters who wrote appeals to not only acquit Asia Bibi but to also ensure her safe passage out of Pakistan.  Her wrongful death sentence has also helped bring more nuance into the discourse around the blasphemy laws and their rampant misuse.  Offered asylum in Canada, Asia Bibi can begin to live her life as a free woman.

We thank you, for standing with Asia Bibi during her ordeal. It’s a great relief that Asia Bibi and her family are safe. She should never have been imprisoned in the first place, let alone faced the death penalty.   Omar Waraich, Deputy South Asia Director at Amnesty International.

Source: Amnesty press release