Lawyer of freed Christian woman in Pakistan flees to the Netherlands

The Pakistani lawyer who helped free a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death in Pakistan for blasphemy has fled to the Netherlands, a Dutch Christian rights group said on Monday.

Asia Bibi's lawyer, Saiful Mulook, left Pakistan on Saturday, due to fear that he could be attacked after Bibi's conviction was overturned on Wednesday, the Association for Persecuted Christians said.

Bibi was convicted of blasphemy in 2010 for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam, and had been sentenced to death. Mulook helped overturn the decision, and has been threatened by angry mobs calling for the judges in the case to be killed.

Two Pakistani politicians who tried to help Bibi have been assassinated. Several parties in Dutch parliament have said they support providing temporary shelter to Bibi if she flees there.

Major cities in Pakistan have been shut down through days of demonstrations against Bibi's. They have said they would escalate their protests if she were permitted to leave the country. The government has indicated it will bar her from travelling abroad.