Medical Report of Christian Girl Accused of Burning Quran Challenged in Pakistani Court

Next hearing for the girl, Rimsha, will be on 1st of September, 2012.

Shamim Masih talking to Mr. Rehman apposing the Rimsha's case

(ISLAMABAD, Pakistan ) - Doctors in Pakistan have examined a young Christian girl with Down's syndrome, who has been imprisoned on blasphemy charges, and declared that she was about 14 years of age, rather than 11, which had been originally reported.

According to Shamim Masih, Pakistani correspondent and human rights campaigner who attended the court hearing today (Thursday, August 30, 2012), the girl, Rimsha’s lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry was in court today for a bail hearing and was hopeful the court would grant bail, but unfortunately the opponent lawyer “Rao Abdul Rehman” was there too to protect the FIR (First Information Report) from the complaint side.

The hearing started at 9:30 am and was adjourned after a few minutes. The case will be back in front of a judge until 1st September, 2012.

Rao Abdul Rehman, (Applicant’s Lawyer) challenged the medical report presented by the doctors penal. He claimed that the court hearing was to be on 28th August, while the medical report was declared out on 27th August, and it should be presented in the court. "So I challenged this medical board, and request the honorable court to appoint another doctors penal to submit medical report based on facts" he claimed. He said that the girl has her senses and committed the act knowingly, saying he will not let her be released.

When he claimed this, the defensive lawyer, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, had nothing to say in his applicant’s favor.

So the case has now been adjourned until Saturday, 1st September, 2012.

Talking to the media after the hearing, Mr. Rehman said that he would defend this case and would not let the girl be released. "She had burnt the Quranic verses and she must be punished" he urged. "It our religious sentiments and all Muslims are standing against it."

There was a large crowd outside the court and media people were on hand; today the Pakistani media has also covered this and most of the Pakistani TV channels and other representatives were there as well.

The girl was placed in a maximum security prison after an angry mob accused her of desecrating pages of the Koran.

But her supporters say she has been wrongly accused.

Police say the girl was arrested last week in a Christian area of the capital Islamabad, after a crowd of people demanded that she be punished for allegedly desecrating pages of the Muslim holy book.

Her parents have been taken into protective custody of APMA.

Sign the petition to help Rimsha: http://www.avaaz.org/en/pakistan_save_my_daughter/?kyWAhab

Special thanks to Shamim Masih for securing the following documents:

http://www.salem-news.com/fms/pakistan-1.JPG

http://www.salem-news.com/fms/pakistan-2.JPG