Pak 'blasphemy' accused Christian girl's case sent to juvenile court

A Pakistan court has rejected the district administration's decision to hold the hearing on the Rimsha Masih 'blasphemy' case in jail and has ordered the police to submit a charge sheet in the special court in accordance with the juvenile laws.

Rimsha, 14, spent three weeks on remand in an adult jail after she was arrested on August 16 for allegedly burning pages from the Holy Quran, in a case that prompted worldwide condemnation, reports The Dawn.

Earlier on Saturday, the police told the court that Rimsha was not guilty and a cleric who allegedly framed her should face trial instead.

"We have received the medical report which says she is aged 14. The investigation report of her case must be submitted in a juvenile court," a judge said.

Rao Abdur Rahim, the lawyer for Rimsha's neighbour Hammad Malik, who originally accused her, objected to the medical report, but Abbas told him he should apply to the juvenile court when it takes up the case.

An official medical report has classified her as "uneducated" and aged 14, but with a mental age younger than her years. Others have said she is as young as 11 and suffers from Down syndrome.

Earlier, Rimsha had been awarded bail and flown to an undisclosed location with her family, over security concerns.

The bail was awarded after it was revealed that a prayer leader of the neighbourhood mosque, Khalid Jadoon had had placed two pages of the Holy Quran with the burnt papers in order to aggravate the situation.