Rimsha Masih is only fourteen, but medical reports confirm that her mental age is even younger. The young Christian girl had been accused of blasphemy in August 2012, in a controversial case that attracted worldwide attention.

Even senior Muslim clerics spoke up to defend her after it was alleged that Rimsha had desecrated the Qur’an. The evidence against her was weak, and a Muslim cleric was later arrested for framing her.

On 16 January 2013, Rimsha was finally granted her freedom. Pakistan’s Supreme Court dismissed a last attempt to reopen the case against her, and threw the case out of court.

Residents of Joseph Colony, Badami Bagh, Lahore – where houses of Christians were attacked recently

We’ve seen a distressing increase in religiously-motivated violence in Pakistan in the past few years. The failings of the justice system mean that perpetrators are very rarely brought to justice, and religious minorities like Christians are often seen as easy targets.

This week please:

• Thank God for Rimsha’s freedom, and ask him to continue to protect her and her family,
• Pray for protection and courage for Christians and other minorities who live in fear of their lives,
• Pray for God to soften the hearts of officials who discriminate against Christians and others in the education and employment sectors,
• Ask God to bring his justice to the heart of the Pakistani justice system.