Muslims' custody of Christian girl overturned

Human rights lawyers working on behalf of a 10-year-old Christian girl reportedly kidnapped by Muslims who then claimed to have custody because she "converted" to Islam have won a startling ruling for her to be returned to her parents.

However, the judge said the girl's 13-year-old sister could "choose" either to be with her alleged kidnapper, a Muslim who said he "married" her, or her parents, and she chose the kidnapper, according to a report from Compass Direct.

Rashid Rehman, of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that is normal behavior for a 13-year-old, considering the circumstances.

"She was tutored and brainwashed by the family of her husband ... and naturally they made up her mind that her parents will hurt her and treat her inhumanely. In fact that will never happen. Her family is really peaceful, and remained so peaceful the whole time the case was heard in high court," Rehman said.

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The judge's decision was based largely on the older girl's statement that she is 17, although her birth certificate indicates she is 13, and the court's ruling that the birth certificate would not be accepted as evidence.

WND reported a short time ago when the Pakistani court ordered the girls into a shelter while the case was sorted out.

The case hinged on the girls' disputed conversion from Christianity to Islam. The court ruled earlier that Aneela Masih, 10, and Saba Masih, 13, had not been free from external pressure when testifying they had converted to Islam.

The girls disappeared on June 26 while en route to visit an uncle. Their parents only found out about their location when Amjad Ali, a Muslim who "married" the older sister the next day, filed a court case against them for custody of the children. The claim was based on the alleged conversion to Islam, because under one interpretation of Islamic law, a non-Muslims may not have custody of a Muslim.

In July a lower court judge agreed, awarding the alleged kidnappers custody. The parents then, with the help of the human rights organization, appealed the ruling.

According to Compass Direct, the latest ruling came from Justice Malik Saeed Ejaz of the Lahore High Court and Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement lawyer Akbar Durrani said it was the first time in his life that he'd witnessed the return by what essentially is a Muslim justice system of a juvenile who had "converted" to Islam to Christian parents.

"In my experience they have not given us the custody of minor girls even as young as 9 years old that have been declared Muslim," he said.

The high court justice called case participants into his private chambers, and said he would give the younger girl back to her parents but allow the older girl to choose her destiny.

Joseph Francis, chief of the CLAAS, said the verdict was good, but not complete without Saba Masih. The team of lawyers working with the parents now is weighing the possibility of take the issue of custody for the 13-year-old to the nation's Supreme Court.

The lawyers also reported that they had received threatening telephone calls apparently from supporters of the alleged kidnappers before the court hearing.

"They said, 'You should not be in court or you will be responsible for the consequences," one of the lawyers told Compass Direct.

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