Girl accused of Koran-burning is released

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RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A Christian girl accused of setting a Koran on fire was released on bail Saturday from the Pakistani jail where she had been held.

The girl, who is said to be 14 and mentally handicapped, could receive a life sentence if she is convicted, The Washington Post reported. A judge set bail Friday at 1 million rupees ($10,500), a heavy sum for most in Pakistan.

The government had her taken by helicopter to be with her family in an undisclosed location.

During the hearing Friday, Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, her lawyer, said the case has cast an ugly light on Pakistan. He said the girl should be treated as a juvenile.

"This incident has brought a bad name to Pakistan around the world, and the country's reputation has been damaged," he said.

The government said the girl was jailed to protect her after a mob in her village threatened to burn her and her family. But members of the government have spoken out for her, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who said she never left her home on the day a witness claimed she was seen carrying partly burned pages of a Koran.

Shahbaz Bhatti, the Catholic minority affairs minister, was assassinated last year after he endorsed changing the blasphemy laws.