Asia Bibi's husband looks to the UK, US and Canada for asylum after death threats and violent protests

Asia Bibi was acquitted but her family fears she will be killed unless she is granted asylum in another country World Watch Monitor

The husband of a Christian woman whose death sentence for blasphemy was overturned last week is pleading with the UK, US and Canada to grant her asylum.

Protests by Islamist hardliners brought Pakistan to a standstill following Asia Bibi's acquittal last week.  Calls have gone out for the deaths of Bibi and the judges who acquitted her of the charges after eight years on death row.

Her lawyer, Saiful Malook, has reportedly left Pakistan out of fear for his life after protests against her acquittal turned violent.

The Pakistani government has come under fire for reaching a deal with Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP), which orchestrated the protests.

As part of the deal, fresh legal proceedings will begin to stop Bibi from leaving Pakistan. A number of arrested protesters were also to be freed.

Bibi's husband, Ashiq Masih, said the deal has only made the family - who are in hiding - more frightened.

'The agreement has sent a shiver down my spine,' he told German broadcaster DW

'My wife, Asia Bibi, has already suffered greatly. She has spent 10 years in jail. My daughters were dying to see her free, but now this review petition will prolong her plight.'

Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled last Wednesday that there was not enough evidence to support the blasphemy charges against Bibi. However, it still has to complete a review of its final verdict.

Masih fears that hardliners will try to sway the judiciary against Bibi.

He said: 'The judiciary is very courageous. It has really decided the verdict on merit. But now during the review petition, the clerics might gather outside the Supreme Court and try to influence the verdict. It is wrong to set a precedent in which you pile pressure onto the judiciary.'

He has made a video appeal to the leaders of the UK, US and Canada to offer asylum to Bibi and the family.

News
Between two cultures: an Afghan Christian in the Netherlands
Between two cultures: an Afghan Christian in the Netherlands

Esther*, who was born in Afghanistan and raised in the Netherlands after her family fled the country when she was three, speaks to Christian Today about her journey of faith, life between two cultures, and her hopes and fears for Afghanistan’s future.

The groundbreaking BBC series that brought Jesus to TV screens
The groundbreaking BBC series that brought Jesus to TV screens

Seventy years ago, in February 1956, the BBC aired the mini-series “Jesus of Nazareth”, which was the first filming of the life of Jesus to be created for television. This is the story …

Christians mobilised to oppose extreme abortion law changes
Christians mobilised to oppose extreme abortion law changes

Christians are being asked to urge peers to support amendments tabled by Baronesses Monckton and Stroud.

Thousands of Christians return to churches in north-east Nigeria despite years of terror
Thousands of Christians return to churches in north-east Nigeria despite years of terror

The faithful are returning “in their thousands, not hundreds” despite more than a decade of brutal violence.