Watchdog

European Union member states are marking a day of remembrance for victims of Stalinism and Nazism.

The European Parliament in 2008 adopted a resolution designating August 23 as the day to formally remember the victims of mass deportations and exterminations.

The day was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the August 23, 1939, signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

The pact's secret protocols divided Europe into two spheres of interest.

A European Parliament statement said the “mass deportations, murders, and enslavements committed in the context of the acts of aggression by Stalinism and Nazism fall into the category of war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

In 2009, the parliament adopted a second resolution condemning the totalitarian crimes of Europe’s communist, Nazi and fascist regimes.

Based on RFE/RL and agency reporting

Amnesty International has urged Pakistan to reform its antiblasphemy laws and protect a young Christian girl arrested for allegedly burning pages with verses from the Koran.

Rimsha, who is between 10 and 13 years old and is reported to have Down syndrome, was taken into custody in a slum of Islamabad on August 16 after furious Muslims demanded she be punished.

Polly Truscott, Amnesty International's South Asia director, said the case showed the "erosion of the rule of law" in Pakistan and the dangers faced by those accused of blasphemy.

The Muslim-majority nation's strict antiblasphemy laws make defaming Islam or desecrating the Koran potentially punishable by death.

Religious intolerance in Pakistan is seen as increasing following last year assassinations of a leading politician and a Christian cabinet minister. Both opposed the anti-blasphemy law.

With reporting by AFP