Disabled Girl, 11, Busted for Blasphemy in Pakistan

An 11-year-old girl apparently suffering from Down syndrome has been arrested in Pakistan for blasphemy. A mob demanded the Christian girl's arrest for allegedly desecrating pages of the Koran, and threatened to torch Christian homes outside Islamabad if she wasn't busted, reports the BBC. The girl's parents have been taken into protective custody.

It's "unlikely the girl purposefully desecrated the Koran," said Pakistan's minister for National Harmony. "From the reports I have seen, she was found carrying a waste bag which had pages of the Koran. This infuriated some local people and a large crowd gathered to demand action. The police were reluctant to arrest her, but they came under a lot of pressure from a very large crowd." Some 600 Christians have fled the area. Human rights activists are calling for a change in Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which include life sentences for those who desecrate the Koran. (More Koran stories.)