Tag: Rimsha Masih

Pakistan: illiterate Christian boy, 16, forced to confess ‘blasphemy’ to escape mob violence

August 21, 2017 Pakistan Blasphemy, Bonded labourers, Gujranwala, Islamic extremism, Lahore, Nabeel Masih, Pakistan, Quran, Rimsha Masih

An angry Pakistani mob almost killed a 16-year-old Christian boy – who is completely illiterate and also slightly mentally challenged – for allegedly burning the pages of a Quran. He was then apparently forced to confess to the alleged crime, and is now in custody – despite apparent inconsistencies in . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians ‘attacked’ as land dispute escalates

February 10, 2017 Pakistan Caste, Gojra, Joseph Colony, Lahore, Minorities, Narowal, Pakistan, Punjab, Rimsha Masih

More than 200 men, some armed with sticks, suddenly gathered on Wednesday morning (8 Feb) beside the Alba Presbyterian Church in Sankhatra, 115km north of Lahore, intent on building a boundary wall. “Children were going to school and men were leaving for work when this large number stormed into the . . . Read More

Pakistani Christians face eviction from Islamabad slums

December 28, 2015 Pakistan Faisalabad, Gojra, Islamabad, Joseph Colony, Kasur, Katchi abadis, Narowal, Rimsha Masih, Sahiwal, Sheikhupura, Sialkot

Over 1000 “katchi abadi” residents gather outside the National Press Club in April 2014 to protest against plans to demolish 12 Islamabad slums.Dawn Christians in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, are facing eviction from their homes, after the Capital Development Authority went to the country’s highest court to request the . . . Read More

Fixing Pakistan’s ‘broken’ blasphemy laws

March 8, 2015 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Minorities, Pakistan, Pakistan Ulema Council, Rimsha Masih

Al-Jazeera at Pakistan’s volatile religious politics through the eyes of two Muslims trying to reform the country’s notorious anti-blasphemy laws. Attorney Saif-ul-Malook, for whom Aasiya Noreen (also known as Asia Bibi) is the latest of several clients he has defended against charges of offending Islam, lives in daily fear of an . . . Read More

Rimsha accused goes free

August 21, 2013 Pakistan Blasphemy, Islamabad, Pakistan Ulema Council, Rimsha Masih

The Muslim cleric suspected of framing Pakistani Christian girl Rimsha Masih has been acquitted. The district court found there was insufficient evidence to convict Imam Khalid Jadoon Chishti, who was suspected of planting the burnt pages of some Islamic texts into the teenager’s bag. Rights activist Basharat Khokhar, left; Mizrak . . . Read More

Rimsha, family, living in Canada

June 29, 2013 Pakistan Asylum seekers, Blasphemy, Paul Bhatti, Rimsha Masih

Rimsha Masih, the teenage Pakistani girl who once faced the possibility of the death penalty because she was accused of insulting Islam, is living in Canada with her family, a Canadian religious-rights organization says. Peter Bhatti, executive director of International Christian Voice, told World Watch Monitor on Saturday that Rimsha . . . Read More

Pakistan court throws out blasphemy charge against pastor

June 27, 2013 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Rimsha Masih, Sheikhupura

Aasiya Noreen, more widely known as Aasiya Bibi, with two of her daughters in a 2010 photo. As a Pakistan court threw out blasphemy charges against pastor Karma Patras, Noreen remained in prison, awaiting appeal of her conviction on blasphemy charges. She faces the death penalty.Photo courtesy Open Doors International . . . Read More

Pakistani judge throws out blasphemy charge

February 20, 2013 Pakistan Blasphemy, Minorities, Pakistan, Punjab, Rimsha Masih

A Pakistan court last month surprised all involved when it dismissed charges of blasphemy against a Christian man accused of insulting Islam. The 28 January ruling by a trial court in Punjab province surprised defendant Barkat Masih, his attorney and religious-rights advocates. It came two months after a different judge . . . Read More

Pakistan Supreme Court confirms decision to drop blasphemy case

January 16, 2013 Pakistan Blasphemy, Islamabad, Pakistan, Paul Bhatti, Punjab, Quran, Rawalpindi, Rimsha Masih, Salmaan Taseer, Shahbaz Bhatti

The Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out an appeal to reopen a blasphemy case against a Christian teen who had been accused of burning pages containing verses from the Quran. Rimsha Masih had been acquitted of the charges in November by the High Court in Islamabad. The lower court’s decision was appealed . . . Read More

Pakistan court clears Rimsha; location remains secret as risk remains

November 20, 2012 Pakistan Asia Bibi, Blasphemy, Islamabad, Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistan, Paul Bhatti, Prophet Muhammad, Punjab, Quran, Rawalpindi, Rimsha Masih, Salmaan Taseer

The case against Rimsha Masih, the teenage Pakistani Christian girl, has today been dropped by the court in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Rimsha, who was arrested in August on suspicion of desecrating Islamic texts, was originally charged in an adult court with blasphemy; there the penalty was life imprisonment. The . . . Read More

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