Blasphemy case: Pakistan Christian girl to be transfered to juvenile court

Islamabad: A Pakistani court on Monday ordered the police to transfer the case of young Christian girl Rimsha Masih, accused of blasphemy, to a juvenile court as an official medical board had concluded that her age is 14 years.

District and Sessions Judge Jawad Abbas Hassan directed police to submit a separate challan or chargesheet against Rimsha to the juvenile court.

He said the court had received the medical board's report that says Rishma is aged 14, and her case must be referred to a juvenile court.

Judge Jawad Abbas Hassan directed police to submit a separate challan or chargesheet against Rimsha to the juvenile court.

The judge further directed police to produce both Rimsha and Khalid Chishti, the imam of the mosque in the girl's neighbourhood who has been accused of planting evidence against her, at the next hearing on October 1.

Rao Abdur Rahim, the lawyer for Rimsha's accuser Malik Ammad, objected to the medical board's report but the judge told him to take up the matter with the juvenile court when it begins hearing the case.

Rimsha was arrested from a low-income neighbourhood on the outskirts of Islamabad on August 16 after her neighbour Malik Ammad accused her of burning pages from a religious text.

She was detained for three weeks in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where top terrorists are also being held.

In a report submitted in court on Saturday, police said they had not found any evidence to support allegations that Rimsha had committed blasphemy.

The report further said three witnesses had testified that Chishti had framed her by planting evidence and should face trial.

The medical board's report has also said that Rimsha's mental development does not correspond to her age. Authorities moved Rimsha and her family to an undisclosed location after she was freed on bail on September 8.

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