Christian girl in Pakistan Islam defamation case helicoptered out of prison
- 12 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: A military helicopter plucked a teenage Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy from a prison yard on Saturday and flew her to a secret location.
Live broadcasts on local television channels showed heavily-armed police surrounding Rimsha Masih, a girl believed to be about 14 years old who was accused of burning pages from the Koran in a pile of trash.
A judge granted her bail on Friday and a government minister said an application was being made to have charges against her dismissed.
The lawyer prosecuting Masih has suggested she could be lynched if she is found not guilty and set free.
After Masih's arrest last month accusations emerged that she had been framed by a local cleric eager to expel Christian families living in the slum where she lived.
Blasphemy charges are frequently followed by deadly riots against minority communities.
Christians, who make up four percent of Pakistan's population of 180 million, have been especially concerned about the blasphemy law, saying it offers them no protection.
STORY: A military helicopter plucked a teenage Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy from a prison yard on Saturday and flew her to a secret location.
Live broadcasts on local television channels showed heavily-armed police surrounding Rimsha Masih, a girl believed to be about 14 years old who was accused of burning pages from the Koran in a pile of trash.
A judge granted her bail on Friday and a government minister said an application was being made to have charges against her dismissed.
The lawyer prosecuting Masih has suggested she could be lynched if she is found not guilty and set free.
After Masih's arrest last month accusations emerged that she had been framed by a local cleric eager to expel Christian families living in the slum where she lived.
Blasphemy charges are frequently followed by deadly riots against minority communities.
Christians, who make up four percent of Pakistan's population of 180 million, have been especially concerned about the blasphemy law, saying it offers them no protection.