Pakistan 'blasphemy' girl remand extended: officials

Rimsha was arrested in a poor suburb of Islamabad on Aug. 16 after a neighbor accused her of burning papers containing verses from the Quran, in breach of Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws.

Her case has prompted concern from Western governments and anger from rights campaigners, who say the legislation is often abused to settle personal vendettas.

She arrived at court for the unannounced remand hearing in an armored police van amid tight security, guarded by heavily armed commandos and covered with a white sheet to conceal her face.

Another hearing is scheduled for Saturday to decide on a bail application and whether to accept a medical report that said Rimsha is 14 years old, which would mean her case would be treated under juvenile law, and has a mental age below her actual age.

Some reports have said she has Down's Syndrome.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Tsunami warnings after 7.6 quake strikes of Philippines

NEXT ARTICLE
Child's rape leads to gov't apology in SK

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit