Pakistani girl's blasphemy bail hearing postponed

Publisher	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Publication Date	3 September 2012
Cite as	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Pakistani girl's blasphemy bail hearing postponed, 3 September 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/504719aac.html [accessed 26 January 2017]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

September 03, 2012

Pakistani policemen escort Islamic cleric Khalid Chishti upon his arrival at a court in Islamabad on September 2.

A 14-year-old Pakistani Christian girl accused of blasphemy will remain in jail until at least September 7.

A judge in Islamabad announced that her bail hearing, set for September 3, would be adjourned until then because of a lawyers' strike.

The girl, Rimsha Masih, was arrested in Islamabad last month on accusations of burning pages of the Koran.

However, on September 2, the case, which has sparked an international outcry, took a new twist.

The imam who accused Masih was himself charged with blasphemy, punishable by death in Pakistan.

The imam, Khalid Chishti, was accused of planting pages of the Koran in a bag containing burnt paper that had been carried by the girl.

Chishti, who denies any wrongdoing, allegedly saw it as a way to push out Christians from his neighborhood.

Human Rights Watch in Pakistan described the decision to act against the cleric as "unprecedented."

Based on reporting by AFP, BBC, AP, and Reuters