Pakistan: Down Syndrome girl accused of blasphemy

20 Aug 2012, 9:31 am   -   Source: AFP
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The girl's plight is likely to reignite debate about growing religious intolerance in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where strict anti-blasphemy laws make defaming Islam or the Prophet Mohammed, or desecrating the Koran, a capital offence. (Getty)

The girl's plight is likely to reignite debate about growing religious intolerance in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where strict anti-blasphemy laws make defaming Islam or the Prophet Mohammed, or desecrating the Koran, a capital offence. (Getty)

A Christian girl with Down Syndrome has been arrested on blasphemy charges in Pakistan, accused of burning pages inscribed with verses from the Koran. 

A Christian girl with Down Syndrome has been arrested on blasphemy charges in Pakistan, accused of burning pages inscribed with verses from the Koran, police and activists said on Sunday.
  
Police arrested Rimsha, who is recognised by a single name, on Thursday after she was reported holding in public burnt pages which had Islamic text and Koranic verses on them, a police official told AFP.
  
A conviction for blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan.
  
The official said that the girl, who he described as being in her teens, was taken to a police station in the capital Islamabad, where she has been detained since.
  
Angry Muslim protesters held rallies demanding she be punished, said the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
  
"We had to register the case fairly quickly to prevent any unpleasant situation," he added, referring to the demonstrations.
  
Rimsha was produced before a court on Friday and remanded in custody for 14 days, another police official said. She is expected to go before the court again by end of this month.
  
The girl's plight is likely to reignite debate about growing religious intolerance in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where strict anti-blasphemy laws make defaming Islam or the Prophet Mohammed, or desecrating the Koran, a capital offence.
  
Human rights activists say the law is often used to settle petty disputes, but in the face of huge public support for the legislation, the government says it has no plans to change it.
  
The girl's alleged behaviour sparked Muslim anger in Mehrabad, an area of the capital where she lives with her parents and where up to 800 Christians reside. Christians there were forced to leave amid mounting fury.
  
"These Christians had sought shelter with their relatives in other parts of the city but now they are gradually returning to Mehrabad," a senior official of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, told AFP.
  
He said that the girl had Down's Syndrome -- a condition which causes various degrees of learning difficulties -- and disputed the age given by police.
  
"She was just 11 to 12 years old," he said, adding it was a hugely sensitive issue and "we would not like it to be mishandled and would rather want to resolve it amicably".
  
Women's Action Forum (WAF), a leading Pakistani organisation fighting for the rights of women, condemned Rimsha's arrest.
  
"WAF is outraged at the total inhumanity of the men who lodged the First Information Report (FIR) in the police," WAF spokeswoman Tahira Abdullah said, demanding Rimsha's immediate release.
  
Police should have dealt with the case under the Juvenile Justice System and not the serious allegation of blasphemy, she said, accusing police of not allowing lawyers or civil society representatives to visit the girl in custody.
 

Blasphemy

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Your Comments

love

bderm - from england, 5 months ago

I do not understand. a book being burned does not harm anyone. the price of a book, buy another, material things do not matter, it is what is in the heart, Its not what you put in your body its what comes out of you from the heart. I wish everyone peace and happiness. God loves everyone even those who do not know him yet.

Get A Grip

David - from Miri Sarawak Borneo, 9 months ago

Your all mad on both sides of "the book". If you need that many rules and customs to tell you right from wrong, good luck to you, you'll need it. Religion is what it has always been - a control mechanism for the masses. However I do wish all you nut-bags would pick up a Science book and get on with enjoying this life with out trying to prove "your Gang" rules The day of reckoning is coming, but its man made. What ever happened to the old gods like Zeus and Thor - time for another change?

Miss

annalee - from London, 9 months ago

i believe that this girl, as a christian, felt this was the right thing to do. and as a christian does not fear the death, penalty. i just want to say that, it is because she is down syndrome, that she is to be put to death. it is about time that the pakistan authorities get used to the idea that, whoever you are, you are going to stand up for what you believe in. i agree with the guy who said that he would also burn the book. it sends out false messages.

Truth

Noman nasir - from Sydney, 9 months ago

Are guys saint or what? You have no right to say anything about the book. Girl has been arrested by police due to her safety. Its a political issue, nothing more than that.

Hate book

Mohamed Constantine - from Devonport, 9 months ago

If someone brought their disgusting hate book into my house id burn it too.

Disgusting.

Jen - from Hobart, 9 months ago

When will people favour logic over the meaningless text of ancient books?

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