• Why Jihad Watch?
  • About Robert Spencer and Staff Writers
  • FAQ
  • Books
  • Muhammad
  • Islam 101
  • Privacy

Jihad Watch

Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Pakistan: Three witnesses whose testimony supported Christian girl accused of blasphemy have changed their statements

Oct 1, 2012 11:31 am By Robert Spencer

You didn’t think they were going to just let her go, did you? “Setback for Pakistani teen facing blasphemy charges,” by Reza Sayah and Nasir Habib for CNN, October 1 (thanks to Twostellas):

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) — Three witnesses whose testimony could absolve a 14-year-old Pakistani girl facing life in prison have changed their statements.

It’s the latest twist in the case of Rimsha Masih, a Christian teenager who was charged more than a month ago under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws for allegedly burning pages of Islam’s holy book for cooking fuel. She has denied the charges.

The three witnesses initially told police they saw Khalid Jadoon Chishti, a Muslim cleric, tear pages out of a copy of the Quran and put them with police evidence that led to the charges against Rimsha.

But they recanted those statements on Monday at a bail hearing for the cleric, according to the imam’s lawyer, Wajid Ali Gilani. A fourth witness stood by his initial statement.

The witnesses are a critical part of the police investigation that determined last week that the imam framed the teen. Based on that investigation and a lack of witnesses, her lawyers are now appealing to have the blasphemy charges dismissed….

Islamabad’s police chief accused the three witnesses of lying to the court on Monday, and said investigators never pressured the witnesses when they gave their initial statements against the cleric.

“If they have changed their statements, they are just lying,” Chief Bin Yamin said.

Police arrested Rimsha in August after her neighbor accused her of burning Quran pages to for cooking fuel, investigators said. The neighbor began to shout in protest, drawing a crowd that grew angry.

Some neighbors said the teenager was beaten. Others said she ran back home and locked herself inside. When police arrived, they arrested her.

Rimsha’s lawyers said the neighbor wanted to settle a personal score with the girl because the two didn’t get along. They said it’s likely that he liked the teen and she didn’t feel the same.

The lawyers say that no one actually saw Rimsha burning the papers, but that the neighbor went to Chishti with the bags.

According to police, Chishti wasn’t certain that simply burning pages with texts from the Quran would be enough to convict Rimsha on blasphemy charges. So, he added two pages from the actual holy book to the bag to bolster the case, they said.

In addition to charges of tampering with evidence, Chishti could also face blasphemy charges as a result of the police investigation….

After her arrest in August, Rimsha had been held in an adult jail before she was released on bail in September. A local court transferred her case to the juvenile court last week after the police investigation said she had been framed.

Islamabad High Court will consider the petition to drop the charges against Rimsha on October 17, said Abdul Hamid Rana, the teen’s leading lawyer. If the charges are not dismissed, her case will proceed in juvenile court.

Having her case transferred to juvenile court “is a precursor to the case ending,” said Hasan of Human Rights Watch.

“That is quite unprecedented in the 25-year history of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws,” he said last week.

It’s unclear how the change in statements from the key witnesses will affect her case.

Blasphemy laws were first instituted to keep peace between religions. Actions perceived as insults to Islam provoke fierce reactions in the predominantly Muslim nation, as demonstrated by the recent angry protests in response to an anti-Islam film produced in the United States and made available online.

There have been 1,400 blasphemy cases since the laws were first enacted in 1986, according to Human Rights Watch. There are more than 15 cases of people on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan, and 52 people have been killed while facing trial for the charge, he said.

Rimsha and her family spoke to CNN last month from an undisclosed location after she was released on bail.

The teen denied that she defiled the Quran. She said she was happy to be with her family, but feared for her life.

“I’m scared,” she said by phone. “I’m afraid of anyone who might kill us.”…

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Follow me on Facebook

Filed Under: blasphemy, Pakistan


Learn more about RevenueStripe...

FacebookYoutubeTwitterLog in

Subscribe to the Jihad Watch Daily Digest

You will receive a daily mailing containing links to the stories posted at Jihad Watch in the last 24 hours.
Enter your email address to subscribe.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!
If you are forwarding to a friend, please remove the unsubscribe buttons first, as they my accidentally click it.

Subscribe to all Jihad Watch posts

You will receive immediate notification.
Enter your email address to subscribe.
Note: This may be up to 15 emails a day.

Donate to JihadWatch
FrontPage Mag

Search Site

Translate

The Team

Robert Spencer in FrontPageMag
Robert Spencer in PJ Media

Articles at Jihad Watch by
Robert Spencer
Hugh Fitzgerald
Christine Douglass-Williams
Andrew Harrod
Jamie Glazov
Daniel Greenfield

Contact Us

Terror Attacks Since 9/11

Archives

  • 2020
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2019
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2018
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2017
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2016
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2015
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2014
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2013
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2012
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2011
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2010
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2009
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2008
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2007
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2006
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2005
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2004
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2003
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • March

All Categories

You Might Like

Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Recent Comments

  • Infidel on Uighur leader: ‘We’re actually quite worried’ about what Biden might let China get away with
  • Infidel on Uighur leader: ‘We’re actually quite worried’ about what Biden might let China get away with
  • gravenimage on Al-Qaeda Calls on Jihadis to Kill Non-Muslims With Poisoned Coronavirus Masks
  • Infidel on Iranian Kurdistan: Muslim brothers behead their sister in honor killing over her romantic relationship
  • gravenimage on Israel At A Crossroads?

Popular Categories

dhimmitude Sharia Jihad in the U.S ISIS / Islamic State / ISIL Iran Free Speech

Robert Spencer FaceBook Page

Robert Spencer Twitter

Robert Spencer twitter

Robert Spencer YouTube Channel

Books by Robert Spencer

Jihad Watch® is a registered trademark of Robert Spencer in the United States and/or other countries - Site Developed and Managed by Free Speech Defense

Content copyright Jihad Watch, Jihad Watch claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to their respective owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Our mailing address is: David Horowitz Freedom Center, P.O. Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, CA 91499-1964

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.