Christian granted secret bail after arrest on false blasphemy charge
A Pakistani trial court has granted a rare post-arrest bail to a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, according to her lawyer. On September 10, Additional Sessions Judge Gojra Waseem Mubarak granted bail to Saima Masih, the widow of Farhad Masih, though the decision was kept confidential for security reasons until this week.
Masih’s lawyer, Haneef Mattu, explained that the bail came a month after a Muslim neighbor falsely accused Saima and her younger sister, Sonia Faryaad, of disposing of a bag containing Quranic pages near their home on August 6.
The residents of Kathore village, located in Chak No. 304 Gojra in the Toba Tek Singh District of Punjab Province, said the accusations were made by Muhammad Haider after Saima rejected his inappropriate advances, according to Mattu.
Saima, a volunteer health worker and mother of two, was arrested, while Sonia, a teacher and mother of three, managed to flee with her family after the allegations arose.
Mattu mentioned that a pre-arrest bail application for Sonia was denied by an additional sessions court. However, after a police investigation cleared her of the charges, Mattu withdrew a subsequent petition for her bail from the Lahore High Court.
Following Saima’s release, Mattu has now filed a petition in the Lahore High Court to dismiss the baseless charges against both sisters.
Source: christianpost.com
