Free at Last

'I was going to die because of a cup of water.'   After drinking water from the same cup as Muslim women, Asia Bibi, a Christian, was sentenced to hang by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 2010 on charges of blasphemy.   Bibi's case polarized all of Pakistan and mobilized international support from across the globe, including politicians, journalists, and countless organizations and supporters who fought for her freedom. For nine long years, Bibi awaited death in prison until she was formally acquitted in January 2019. Now a political exile, Bibi is reunited with her family in the West, but she will never be allowed to return to her homeland.   In Free at Last, Asia and journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet, who championed Asia's cause for nearly a decade, share her story-one that reveals the heart and mind of a woman who refused to renounce her faith and unwittingly became the global symbol of the fight against religious extremism.  

Cowriter ANNE-ISABELLE TOLLET is a reporter and former permanent correspondent in Pakistan. She is the author of Blasphemy and Death Is Not a Solution and general secretary of the International Asia Bibi Committee.