{"id":1014,"date":"2012-09-07T23:05:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-07T23:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/girl-with-down-syndrome-granted-bail-in-blasphemy-case\/"},"modified":"2012-09-07T23:05:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-07T23:05:00","slug":"girl-with-down-syndrome-granted-bail-in-blasphemy-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/09\/girl-with-down-syndrome-granted-bail-in-blasphemy-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Girl with Down syndrome granted bail in blasphemy case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Islamabad, Pakistan, Sep 7, 2012 \/ 05:05 pm (CNA<\/a>).- A\u00a0judge granted bail on Friday, Sept. 7 to a 14-year-old Christian girl with Down syndrome who has been held on suspicion of burning pages of the Quran.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAlthough this is a small step towards justice, she will still have to undergo a full trial unless granted asylum in a Western nation,\u201d Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christian Association said in a Sept. 7 e-mail.<\/p>\n

\tMasih, who has Down syndrome, was arrested Aug. 16 and has been held at a high-security prison in Rawalpindi.<\/p>\n

\tHer bail has been set at 1,000,000 rupees, or about $10,500. Bail is not normally available to those held under the blasphemy laws, but the evidence against her was deemed inadequate to continue to hold a minor with Down syndrome.<\/p>\n

\tIf her bail is met, she may be united with her family, which has been taken into protective custody. Many Christians have fled the poor neighborhood where the Masih family lived, fearing mob violence.<\/p>\n

\tEven if those accused under the country\u2019s harsh blasphemy laws are acquitted in court, it can be difficult for authorities to prevent the killing of those who are accused. In 2011, two Pakistani politicians \u2014 Salmaan Taseer, a Muslim, and Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic \u2014 were assassinated for opposing the blasphemy laws under which Masih is being held.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHere safety is paramount and security at today's court hearing was significant, however the killing of Governor Taseer illustrates that extra-judicial killings are hard to prevent,\u201d Chowdhry stated.<\/p>\n

\tMasih's case has garnered attention from Western governments and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. It has also sparked discussion of the blasphemy laws and human rights within Pakistan itself.<\/p>\n

\tPakistan\u2019s blasphemy laws are often used to settle scores or to persecute minorities. Christians make up a mere two to four percent of the country\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

\tOn Sept. 2 an imam from Masih's neighborhood, Khalid Chishti, was arrested on suspicion of having planted pages of the Quran among burnt pages in a bag she was carrying. Chishti will also face charges under the blasphemy laws.<\/p>\n

\tChisti allegedly said to his companions, \u201cYou know this is the only way to expel the Christians from this area.\u201d Several persons, including his own deputy, have testified to his action of planting the Quran pages in Masih's bag.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt\u2019s a welcome decision, they were expecting this and they were praying for this, but it comes not as a favorable gesture on the part of the court, it doesn\u2019t involve that sympathy that common people share; a child being accused and then being abused and kept in jail,\u201d said Peter Jacob, of the National Commission for Justice and Peace, an advocacy organization established by the Pakistani bishops' conference.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Islamabad, Pakistan, Sep 7, 2012 \/ 05:05 pm (CNA).- A judge granted bail on Friday, Sept. 7 to a 14-year-old Christian girl with Down syndrome who has been held on suspicion of burning pages of the Quran.<\/p>\n

\t“Although this is a small step tow…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"yoast_head":"\nGirl with Down syndrome granted bail in blasphemy case<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Islamabad, Pakistan, Sep 7, 2012 \/ 05:05 pm (CNA).- A judge granted bail on Friday, Sept. 7 to a 14-year-old Christian girl with Down syndrome who has been held on suspicion of burning pages of the Quran. “Although this is a small step tow...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/09\/girl-with-down-syndrome-granted-bail-in-blasphemy-case\/\" 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