The Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned the 2010 blasphemy conviction and death sentence of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Catholic woman, citing failure to proffer enough evidence that Bibi indeed committed the offense. Bibi’s conviction stemmed from an altercation with her Muslim co-workers at a farm in Punjab province, who said they would not drink water fetched by Bibi after she sipped from it because she was impure. Heated words were exchanged, and the account of the incident was later apparently exaggerated to incriminate Bibi. The trial court convicted her of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. Bibi initially made what the high court called an “extra-judicial confession” to the crime at the scene, but claimed at trial that the confession was made under coercion and threat of death. The Asia Bibi case has polarized Pakistan over the past years, leading to waves of protest and even deadly violence. The Supreme Court decision has triggered angry demonstrations across the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan has appealed for calm. Bibi, a mother of four, has spent most of the past eight years in solitary confinement. (Photo: Pakistan Express-Tribune)