Attorney of complainant in Rimsha Masih blasphemy case challenges bail plea

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Islamabad: August 30, 2012. (Shamim Masih): The bail plea under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO) 2000 has been challenged in the court. A bail hearing for a Pakistani Christian girl charged with blasphemy has been delayed after her accuser's lawyer challenged a medical report declaring her a juvenile. Rimsha Masih's chances of being granted bail at the hearing on Thursday had appeared hopeful after a medical report earlier this found she was aged around 14 and should therefore be tried as a juvenile, which would allow her bail in a blasphemy case. But those hopes were dashed when Rao Abdur Raheem, a new lawyer representing the girl's accuser, questioned the medical evidence. Raheem said doctors had gone beyond their remit by commenting on the girl's mental development and claimed that a medical examination was carried out before a court had requested it. The court asked the authorities for clarification of the report and the case will be heard again on Saturday. The medical report had found that Rimsha's mental development was below her age. This could be crucial as a blasphemy conviction requires that she was aware of what she was doing. Establishing that she is a juvenile will also bolster her defense. The case has caused an international outcry, while there are real fears for her safety and the safety of her family. A blasphemy allegation, proven or not, often leads to a death sentence for the accused as vigilantes take the law into their own hands. "This [medical] report has been managed by the state, state agencies and the accused," claimed Raheem, speaking after the brief court hearing in Islamabad. "We will not allow people to get away with burning the Qur'an." Raheem also objected to the medical examination because it was carried out a day before the court formally requested it. Judge Raja Jawad Abbas Hassan adjourned the case to Saturday to seek clarification on the report. According to him, the maximum punishment in the offence under section 295 of PPC is life imprisonment and if the accused would be tried under JJSO, she would be released maximum after six months of confinement, if her trial was not concluded in this period. But under Cr PC, the accused would not be released on bail till conclusion of her trial which may take one or two years because 295 PPC is a non-bailable offence in Cr PC.

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"Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" By Nazir S Bhatti

On demand of our readers, I have decided to release E-Book version of "Trial of Pakistani Christian Nation" on website of PCP which can also be viewed on website of Pakistan Christian Congress www.pakistanchristiancongress.org . You can read chapter wise by clicking tab on left handside of PDF format of E-Book.

nazirbhattipcc@aol.com , pakistanchristianpost@yahoo.com