Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who spent eight years on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan, has flown to Canada to be reunited with her family. The news was welcomed on Twitter, with users posting messages of support and delight.

“It is a big day,” Bibi’s lawyer Saiful Malook said. “Justice has been dispensed.”

. @MarleneSchiappa, France’s equality minister,confirms that #AsiaBibi is now safe and free in her movement.Great news for Asia,her family and all humanists.This is a strong message to all fanatics for whom it’s easier to kill than to accept a different opinion.Bravo et merci 🙏🏻 https://t.co/tlOSxDy5iD — inna shevchenko (@femeninna) May 8, 2019

Bravo to millions worldwide who were neither silent nor indifferent. There were so many Christians who prayed, and people of all beliefs who spoke out, for one innocent woman imprisoned in Pakistan.I especially salute @FreeAsiaBiBi, who posted 84,000 tweets to save #AsiaBibi. pic.twitter.com/iCY1wnH0fp — Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) May 8, 2019

Her reunion with her four daughters in Ottawa concludes a nine-year saga for the Roman Catholic farm laborer, from Ittanwala near Lahore, who was accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed by a group of Muslim women following a row over a cup of water in June 2009.

Fantastic news! Brave christian hero #AsiaBibi free now after leaving barbaric #Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/WHrwXutDnK — Geert Wilders (@geertwilderspvv) May 8, 2019

“A great relief this shameful ordeal has finally come to an end & #AsiaBibi and her family are safe,” said Omar Waraich at @Amnesty International. “She should never have been imprisoned let alone endured constant threats to her life.” #Pakistan#blasphemyhttps://t.co/gD8VCvmfgc — Mehreen Zahra-Malik (@mehreenzahra) May 8, 2019

A local mosque broadcast the allegations levelled against her and she was subsequently dragged from her home and beaten by a mob before being taken into custody. She was sentenced to death in 2010.

Stay safe #AsiaBibi. May we make #Pakistan a better place for those who are vulnerable, who are weak & those who deserve protection from oppressive forces anywhere. — Mahwash Ajaz (@mahwashajaz_) May 8, 2019

It is Pakistan’s eternal shame that the country could not provide the tolerant & safe society that #AsiaBibi and her family (and all people) deserve. — Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) May 8, 2019

Throughout her time in prison, Bibi received support both internationally and from within Pakistan’s own government, with fatal consequences. The governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards in 2011 after he appealed to the Pakistani president to pardon her. The bodyguard was executed over the crime in 2016.

In addition, Shahbaz Bhatti, who was the federal minister for minority affairs at the time, was shot dead by self-proclaimed Taliban gunmen in March 2011 after he called for the reform of blasphemy laws and declared his support for Bibi.

Bibi was finally released from prison in 2018 following her acquittal by the Supreme Court which quashed the blasphemy sentence citing unreliable evidence and an alleged confession issued before a crowd that was “threatening to kill her.”

Also on rt.com Pakistani court overturns blasphemy death penalty for Christian woman

Her acquittal sparked an outbreak of violence and angry demonstrations on the streets of Islamabad and Karachi as armed mobs pelted police and traffic with stones.

The hardline conservative Islamist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) protested for three days and forced the government to reconsider the acquittal. Pakistan’s Supreme Court upheld the verdict in January.

Also on rt.com Free to leave: Pakistan’s top court upholds acquittal of Christian woman accused of blasphemy

Meanwhile, Bibi was kept in a secret location while arrangements were made for her safe departure from the country where she was held prisoner on death row for eight years.

At least 65 people have reportedly been killed for blasphemy in Pakistan since 1990.

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