Pakistan frees Christian girl accused of blasphemy

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) -- A young Christian girl accused of burning pages of Islam's holy book was freed Saturday from a jail near the capital where she had been held for three weeks, a Pakistani jail official said.

The release a day after a judge granted her bail is another step closer to ending an episode that has focused an uncomfortable spotlight on Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws, which can result in life in prison or even death for defendants. Many critics say the laws are misused to wage vendettas or target Pakistan's vulnerable minorities like the Christians.

A Muslim cleric from her neighborhood was arrested last week for planting evidence to incriminate the girl, an about-face in a case that has drawn strong international condemnation. Even in Pakistan where there is significant support for punishing people accused of desecrating the Quran or insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammed, the girl's age and questions about her mental state have earned her a degree of public sympathy often lacking in other blasphemy cases.

The tight security present during her release is a sign that authorities are taking her safety seriously in light of previous attacks on people accused of blasphemy. Two prominent politicians were gunned down last year for suggesting the blasphemy laws should be amended to prevent misuse. The killer of one of the politicians was later lauded by supporters who threw rose petals whenever he appeared at court.

AP Source

With the numerous threads on this subject, I assume that there is a lot of interest in this case. So I am sharing what just came across the AP wires.

It appears that fanaticism and common sense fight with one another in other cultures as well. It's not just a western thing. In this case it appears that common sense won the day and overcame fanaticism.

It only goes to show that people with agendas, from any culture, society, or religion, are growing impatient and are increasingly willing to try and cheat the game by creating excuses to promote their own plans and ideas. They will create the poison so that they can then sell us the cure for it.

The only real blasphemy here is that a cleric was willing to lie about the blasphemy of another in order to make himself seem more dedicated to God.

~Heff

I would not want to be in that cleric shoes. But it is good to see that he will be prosecuted for what he did to that girl.

Her parents had an online petition which I signed.I found out about it on a thread here before the thread was 404'd.
Glad to see that common sense prevailed.

Its 2012 yet humans STILL believe in these SILLY ASININE MAN-MADE fairy-tale religious texts!!

They are fictional garbage not worthy even as toilet paper or for use in the fireplace, yet the fighting, killing, and HELL this foolishness causes is STAGGERING.

Its 2012 yet we have humans on this planet are more mentally retarded then apes having belief in this religious nonsense.

Rereading the article, I just realized that I neglected a key piece of the information in the OP.

Bail is rarely granted in blasphemy cases, and the decision signals a degree of sympathy that could result in all the charges being dropped.

same source as OP

This takes a bit of my common sense praise away... she was framed, so why is there only a "could" tied to the notion of dropping the charges?

I guess we'll have to wait and see if common sense actually prevails or not. But at least the girl is out of harms way for now.

~Heff

I find the irony of that whole story hilarious.. they claim to be religious and hence, good people. But they want to KILL someone for simply having another belief. Allah would not be impressed, should he even exist.

Pakistan only let her go because of the international attention, not because they used common sense or something.. they did it because the world was watching, and not a single person agreed with their actions.. outside of their government/citizens that is.