Asia Bibi, a Pakistani
Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row,
has been freed from prison.
The mother-of-five was
released from prison in the city of Multan on Wednesday and it remains unclear
exactly where she is.
Last week's Supreme Court
ruling sparked violent protests from Islamists and the government agreed to their
demand to stop her leaving Pakistan.
News of her release led to
some confusion, with reports she had been taken to another country.
But the foreign office
later said she was still in Pakistan.
What was Asia Bibi
accused of?
The trial stems from
an argument Asia Bibi had with a group of women in June 2009.
They were harvesting
fruit when a row broke out about a bucket of water. The women said that because
she had used a cup, they could no longer touch it, as her faith had made it
unclean.
Prosecutors alleged
that in the row which followed, the women said Asia Bibi should convert to
Islam and that she made offensive comments about the Prophet Muhammad in
response.
She was later beaten
up at her home, during which her accusers say she confessed to blasphemy. She
was arrested after a police investigation.
Acquitting her, the
Supreme Court said that the case was based on unreliable evidence and her
confession was delivered in front of a crowd "threatening to kill
her".
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