Reuters: Pakistan’s Supreme Court will on Tuesday begin a review of its acquittal of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy, a verdict that sparked days of Islamist protests over a case that has divided society and incited killings.
Asia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row, has been in hiding since the Supreme Court freed her in October, with religious hardliners calling for her death and demanding that the government prevent her from leaving the country.
Most reviews of Supreme Court verdicts are dismissed immediately, but the controversy, anger and fear surrounding the case has added an extra layer of uncertainty.
A three-judge panel, including new Supreme Court Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, is due to hear the case.
Bibi’s lawyer, Saif-ul-Malook, who fled to Europe due to fears for his safety last year, told Reuters he expected the case to be dismissed.
“They have filed the petition on flimsy grounds. They haven’t attempted to counter her release on constitutional grounds,” said Malook, who returned to Pakistan this week and will represent Bibi in court.
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