Koran case girl Rimsha Masih flees Pakistan to start new life in Canada

A Christian girl from Pakistan who was wrongly accused of burning the Koran and charged with blasphemy has left the country and started a new life in Canada.

A Muslim cleric who tried to help Rimsha Masih said the 14-year-old and her family had left after becoming the target of threats. “I am sad that this innocent girl had to leave Pakistan. She had been acquitted by the court, and despite that it was not possible for her to live freely,” the cleric told the Associated Press.

The girl from Islamabad was arrested last summer after a cleric in her neighbourhood accused her of burning the Koran. The cleric was later accused of fabricating evidence, and the girl was acquitted but the family was forced to go into hiding.

The girl reportedly left Pakistan with her parents, three sisters and a brother on 14 March. She has enrol- led in school in Canada and is said to be doing well.