Aasia Bibi’s lawyer seeking European passport

PARIS: Aasia Bibi’s lawyer is seeking protection from European governments, his French lawyer told AFP on Friday.

Saif-ul-Mulook has been targeted by death threats since acquittal of his client Aasia Bibi.

He is hoping that people will take into account his actions in defending Bibi, given the current circumstances in Pakistan, which led him to exchange his freedom for hers," Mulook´s lawyer Francois Zimeray told AFP. "He does not want to seek asylum, but rather to ask for European nationality," Zimeray said.

Mulook fled to the Netherlands last November after violent protests erupted over the Supreme Court´s decision to overturn Bibi´s death sentence from 2010.

He returned to Islamabad on January 26 to defend Bibi as she faced another appeal of the Supreme Court´s decision, which was rejected on Tuesday.

Bibi, who has been detained in protective custody, is expected to leave Pakistan as well to seek asylum in a North American or European country, and unconfirmed reports have said her children are already in Canada. The country´s foreign ministry confirmed Thursday that Bibi was free to leave the country.