Aasia's lawyer granted temporary asylum in Netherlands
Malook on Tuesday said he wanted to remain on Dutch soil
Saiful Malook speaks to journalists during a press conference in the Hague. PHOTO:AFP
The Dutch government has offered Saiful Malook, Aasia Bibi's lawyer, temporary asylum in the Netherlands, Reuters reported.
Netherlands Foreign Minister Stef Blok said the country has offered Malook a place in their Shelter City program for human rights defenders at risk in a tweet.
Malook on Tuesday said he wanted to remain on Dutch soil. He had fled to the Netherlands from Pakistan after violent protests erupted over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the blasphemy conviction of Aasia Bibi.
At a news conference in The Hague on Monday, the lawyer said he was “put on a plane against my wishes” even though he had refused to leave the country without ensuring that his client was out of prison.
But in an about turn a day later, he said: “If the Netherlands as a country which defends human rights, does not help me or shelter me, I would prefer to return to Pakistan to be assassinated,” according to local media.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
Netherlands Foreign Minister Stef Blok said the country has offered Malook a place in their Shelter City program for human rights defenders at risk in a tweet.
Malook on Tuesday said he wanted to remain on Dutch soil. He had fled to the Netherlands from Pakistan after violent protests erupted over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the blasphemy conviction of Aasia Bibi.
At a news conference in The Hague on Monday, the lawyer said he was “put on a plane against my wishes” even though he had refused to leave the country without ensuring that his client was out of prison.
But in an about turn a day later, he said: “If the Netherlands as a country which defends human rights, does not help me or shelter me, I would prefer to return to Pakistan to be assassinated,” according to local media.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.