Islamabad, Pakistan, Sep 5, 2012 / 01:07 am
Several witnesses have charged that a Muslim cleric fabricated evidence against a Down syndrome Christian girl accused of violating Pakistan's strict blasphemy law.
The witnesses include Hafiz Zubair, the deputy imam of a local mosque. He told police that Imam Khalid Jadoon Chishti deliberately stuffed pages from the Quran into a bag with burnt pages of a religious textbook that a young man brought to him. The young man charged that Rimsha Masih had burnt the book.
The imam was arrested Sept. 1 on the deputy imam's allegations.
Investigating officer Munir Jafferi told the Pakistan Express Tribune that two more witnesses had come forward. The imam could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of desecrating the Quran.