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Afghanistan says fate of convert up to the court
Man could face death penalty if he refuses to return to Islam
Updated: 6:13 a.m. ET March 22, 2006
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan said on Wednesday the judiciary would rule on a man facing death for converting to Christianity after the United States and three NATO allies with troops in Afghanistan urged respect for religious freedom.
An Afghan judge said this week a man named Abdur Rahman had been jailed for converting from Islam to Christianity and could face the death penalty if he refused to become a Muslim again.
Sharia, or Islamic law, stipulates death for apostasy. Afghanistan’s legal system is based on a mixture of civil and sharia law.
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“We in Afghanistan have the prosecutor who observes the law and the court that executes it. Whatever the court orders will be executed as the court is independent,” said Mahaiuddin Baluch, an adviser on religious affairs to President Hamid Karzai.
International outcry
The case has raised alarm in the United States and Europe and is sensitive for Karzai.
The president depends on foreign troops to battle Taliban and al-Qaida militants, and foreign aid to support the economy, but also has to take into consideration the views of conservative proponents of Islamic law.
Asked about the international outcry, Baluch said: “Everybody has the right to express their view.”
The United States, which counts Karzai as a key ally in the region, raised the case with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday, calling on Kabul to uphold Afghan citizens’ constitutional right to choose their faith.
“We hope that the Afghan constitution is going to be upheld and in our view, if it’s upheld, then of course he’ll be found to be innocent,” said Nicholas Burns, the U.S. State Department’s third-ranked diplomat.
Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini has said Rahman would probably not be executed.
Fini, whose country was one of the four with troops in Afghanistan to speak out about the case, told Italian television late on Tuesday he had indications the Islamic punishment for apostasy would not be imposed on Abdul Rahman.
“From what I’ve been told, and I have no reason to doubt it, the death sentence will not be carried out,” said Fini. He gave no other details.
Campaign to withdrawal Italian troops
Earlier, Italy called in the Afghan ambassador in Rome, two Berlin cabinet ministers spoke out and Germany’s top Catholic cardinal demanded Rahman’s freedom. Canada said it was concerned and urged Kabul to meet its human rights obligations.
Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga wrote to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, now campaigning for re-election, and urged him to withdraw Italian troops from Afghanistan unless he won assurances from Kabul over Rahman’s safety.
Abdullah said his government had “nothing to do” with the judicial case, but added: “I hope that through our constitutional process, there will be a satisfactory result.”
The Afghan embassy in Washington had received “hundreds of messages” from Americans about the case, Abdullah said.
“I know that it is a very sensitive issue and we know the concerns of the American people,” he said.
One political analyst in Kabul said the case might hinge on differing interpretations of the constitution.
Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic country and 99 per cent of its more than 25 million people are Muslim. A court sentenced two Afghan journalists to death for blasphemy three years ago but they escaped and sought asylum abroad.
Man could face death penalty if he refuses to return to Islam
Updated: 6:13 a.m. ET March 22, 2006
KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan said on Wednesday the judiciary would rule on a man facing death for converting to Christianity after the United States and three NATO allies with troops in Afghanistan urged respect for religious freedom.
An Afghan judge said this week a man named Abdur Rahman had been jailed for converting from Islam to Christianity and could face the death penalty if he refused to become a Muslim again.
Sharia, or Islamic law, stipulates death for apostasy. Afghanistan’s legal system is based on a mixture of civil and sharia law.
Story continues below ↓
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“We in Afghanistan have the prosecutor who observes the law and the court that executes it. Whatever the court orders will be executed as the court is independent,” said Mahaiuddin Baluch, an adviser on religious affairs to President Hamid Karzai.
International outcry
The case has raised alarm in the United States and Europe and is sensitive for Karzai.
The president depends on foreign troops to battle Taliban and al-Qaida militants, and foreign aid to support the economy, but also has to take into consideration the views of conservative proponents of Islamic law.
Asked about the international outcry, Baluch said: “Everybody has the right to express their view.”
The United States, which counts Karzai as a key ally in the region, raised the case with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday, calling on Kabul to uphold Afghan citizens’ constitutional right to choose their faith.
“We hope that the Afghan constitution is going to be upheld and in our view, if it’s upheld, then of course he’ll be found to be innocent,” said Nicholas Burns, the U.S. State Department’s third-ranked diplomat.
Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini has said Rahman would probably not be executed.
Fini, whose country was one of the four with troops in Afghanistan to speak out about the case, told Italian television late on Tuesday he had indications the Islamic punishment for apostasy would not be imposed on Abdul Rahman.
“From what I’ve been told, and I have no reason to doubt it, the death sentence will not be carried out,” said Fini. He gave no other details.
Campaign to withdrawal Italian troops
Earlier, Italy called in the Afghan ambassador in Rome, two Berlin cabinet ministers spoke out and Germany’s top Catholic cardinal demanded Rahman’s freedom. Canada said it was concerned and urged Kabul to meet its human rights obligations.
Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga wrote to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, now campaigning for re-election, and urged him to withdraw Italian troops from Afghanistan unless he won assurances from Kabul over Rahman’s safety.
Abdullah said his government had “nothing to do” with the judicial case, but added: “I hope that through our constitutional process, there will be a satisfactory result.”
The Afghan embassy in Washington had received “hundreds of messages” from Americans about the case, Abdullah said.
“I know that it is a very sensitive issue and we know the concerns of the American people,” he said.
One political analyst in Kabul said the case might hinge on differing interpretations of the constitution.
Afghanistan is a conservative Islamic country and 99 per cent of its more than 25 million people are Muslim. A court sentenced two Afghan journalists to death for blasphemy three years ago but they escaped and sought asylum abroad.
