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A Pakistani
Christian girl who was falsely accused of blasphemy has fled to Canada with her
family, a Christian organisation says.
Rimsha
Masih, aged 14, was detained in a maximum security prison for several weeks in
August 2012, accused of burning pages from the Koran.
The case
attracted widespread international concern.
Although
charges against Rimsha were dropped, she and her family were forced into hiding
after death threats.
Rimsha, who
is believed to have learning difficulties, was arrested in a Christian area of
the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, after a furious crowd demanded she be
punished.
A local
Muslim cleric has since been accused of framing her.
'Free'
The
teenager has now settled in Canada with her family, although their exact
location has not been made public.
A Christian
activist in Canada told the BBC that the teenager was learning English and
enjoying school. "They feel free," he said.
Critics
have accused Pakistani courts of using the country's harsh blasphemy laws to
target members of minority religions, according to the BBC's Orla Guerin, in
Islamabad.
There seems
little chance of a change in the law, our correspondent adds.
At least
two prominent Pakistani politicians who had campaigned for a change in law have
been killed in recent years.
 |
| Rimsha Masih, a Christian girl accused of blasphemy sits in helicopter after her release from jail in Rawalpindi Photo: FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Im |
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