Asia Bibi is a Pakistani Catholic woman who was sentenced to death in 2010 for blasphemy against Islam. After more than eight years in prison, she was acquitted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2018.

“I was accused because of the name of Jesus and I knew I would be freed because of Jesus,” Bibi said at a Paris press conference.

Bibi said that during her time on death row, her faith “was always strong because I knew that God was with me, God never leaves you alone, he always accompanies you.”

Together with French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet, Bibi has written her autobiography, Enfin Libre (Free at Last). The English edition is due out in September.

“My parents told me that and I knew that something would happen one day,” she said.

During her incarceration, even when she was sentenced to death by hanging, Bibi said she prayed to God for His help to overcome her ordeal.

“If you trust in God, your faith becomes stronger,” she said.

“I knew I was going to be released because I was accused because of the name of Jesus and I would be freed because of Jesus,” Bibi said. A mother of five, Bibi especially thanked all the people who prayed for her during her years in prison, especially Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.