As of early February, Asia Bibi was free to leave the country after the Pakistani Supreme Court upheld her acquittal. Bibi had been sentenced to death for blasphemy, spending eight years on death row before being acquitted last October. 

Following Bibi’s acquittal, dissenters filled the streets, protesting her release. Bibi received death threats, forcing her to go into hiding for her safety. Radical Islamists appealed the acquittal.

Bibi was expected to join her daughters in Canada, where they have been granted political asylum.