Rimsha Masih is a young Christian girl, believed to be developmentally disabled and around fourteen years in age, who faced charges in Pakistan for allegedly burning sacred Muslim documents—a crime punishable by death in that country.

Masih was arrested in August 2012 after a local cleric, Mohammad Khalid Chisti, said she had burned pages of the Noorani Qaida, a religious book used to teach the Qu’ran to children. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated outside of the police station where Masih was being held, demanding she face formal charges.

The case took a turn in September 2012, when police arrested Chisti and charged him with fabricating evidence against Masih. Masih has since been cleared of the charges against her. However, Rimsha and her family will feel the consequences of the charges forever, as they—along with many Christians living nearby—have already relocated from their home and live in hiding in fear of vigilante retribution.

On June 30, 2013, it was announced that Rimsha and her family had safely relocated to Canada.

News

This section will be updated as news develops on this case.