by Catholic News Service
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A Pakistani court considering the case of a Christian girl allegedly found with burned pages of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, adjourned Thursday without granting bail.
The girl, Rimsha Masih, 11, who has Down syndrome, was charged under the country's strict blasphemy law and has been held since Aug. 18.
Chances for her release received a boost Wednesday when district court Judge Jawad Hasan confirmed she was a minor suffering from a mental disability, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.
Medical tests had determined Rimsha was about 14 years old.
Under Pakistani law, children under 15 must be tried in a juvenile court, while those under 12 are deemed to be incapable of taking responsibility for their own actions and cannot be found guilty.
Although medical examinations presented to the court countered claims by the girl's parents that she is only 11, her lawyer, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, said he was confident the court would release her during the Thursday hearing.
"The proof of her illiteracy, being underage and mental illness increase the prospects for her freedom," he said. "All facts and figures support her."
However, the court did not grant bail and continued the hearing until Saturday to get further clarification of the medical tests, The Associated Press reported.
After the adjournment human rights activists renewed calls for the girl's release and repeated their criticisms of the anti-blasphemy laws.
The case has sparked international condemnation of a country whose anti-blasphemy laws remain among the strictest in the world. Those found guilty can be sentenced to death.
Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the Catholic church's National Commission for Justice and Peace, said cases such as Rimsha's were rarely clear-cut, and authorities often were afraid to take a stand.
Last year, two officials were killed for expressing opposition to Pakistan's anti-blasphemy laws.
"A change in the blasphemy laws is only possible with pressure from the international community," Jacob said.
