Asia Bibi lawyer says EU, UN made him leave 'against my wishes'

The Hague: A Pakistani lawyer who saved Asia Bibi, convicted of blasphemy from death row, said Monday that the UN and EU made him leave the country "against my wishes" because his life was at risk.

Saif-ul-Malook, who has fled to the Netherlands, said he contacted a United Nations official in Islamabad after violence erupted following the Supreme Court´s acquittal of Asia Bibi on Wednesday.

"And then they (the UN) and the European nation ambassadors in Islamabad, they kept me for three days and then put me on a plane against my wishes," the lawyer told a press conference in The Hague.

"I pressed them that I would not leave the country unless I get Asia out of the prison... I am not happy to be here without her but, but everybody said that you are the prime target at the moment and the whole world is taking care of Asia Bibi.

"They were of the view that I was the prime target to be killed, and that my life was in imminent danger. For three days they did not let me open the door, one day I called the French ambassador and said I do not want to be here."

The lawyer had previously told AFP before his departure on Saturday that he was leaving because "in the current scenario, it´s not possible for me to live in Pakistan".

Saif-ul-Malook arrived in The Hague at the weekend after a short stopover in Rome.

Asia Bibi spent nearly a decade on death row after being accused of blasphemy after a dispute with fellow villagers.