Christian convert case 'flawed'

2006-03-26 16:21

Kabul - The judge presiding over the case of an Afghan man who could face the death penalty for converting to Christianity said on Sunday the case against him had flaws and had been referred back to prosecutors.

The row over the man, Abdur Rahman, 40, jailed this month for abandoning Islam, threatens to create a rift between Afghanistan and the United States and other Western backers who have been calling for the man's release.

"The case, because of some technical as well as legal flaws and shortcomings, has been referred back to the prosecutor's office," the judge, Ansarullah Mawlavizada, told Reuters.

He declined to elaborate on the flaws or say if the review would delay the trial, which had been due to begin in coming days.

Rahman, detained this month for converting to Christianity, told an Italian newspaper from his Kabul jail cell that he was ready to die for his new faith.

Death is the punishment stipulated by sharia, or Islamic law, for apostasy - abandonment of the faith. The Afghan legal system is based on a mixture of civil and sharia law.

The government is trying to satisfy Western demands for the man's release, while not angering powerful conservatives at home who have demanded a trial and death sentence under Islamic law.

Officials in President Hamid Karzai's government declined to comment, except to say discussions on a solution were going on.

"I'm hopeful something will be worked out," said one.

Officials and analysts say they do not expect Rahman to be executed.

Mawlavizada said earlier that Rahman's mental state could be taken into account.

Rahman has denied he is mentally unstable, but a prosecutor preparing the case him said he would be examined.

"He will undergo a medical examination tomorrow for the reported mental issue," said the prosecutor, Zemarai, who uses only one name.

'I don't want to die'

US President George W Bush has urged Afghanistan to show it respects religious freedom and resolve the case quickly.

Several other countries with troops in Afghanistan, including Canada, Italy, Germany and Australia, have voiced concern.

Some foreign critics have urged that their troops be withdrawn.

But the foreign pressure on Afghanistan has only been met in Afghanistan by threats of rebellion if the government gives in and frees Rahman.

Rahman told a preliminary hearing 10 days ago he had become a Christian while working for an aid group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan 15 years ago.

He later lived in Germany before returning to Afghanistan.

He was detained after his family told authorities he had converted, apparently following a family dispute involving two daughters, a judicial official said.

"I don't want to die. But if God decides, I am ready to face up to my choices, all the way," he was quoted as saying in Sunday's La Repubblica newspaper.

The Italian newspaper conducted the interview by sending Rahman written questions via a human rights worker who visited him in jail outside Kabul.

Rahman said he would defend himself in court as no lawyer would want to, and that he did not want to be forced to leave Afghanistan, a possible option if he is allowed to go free.

Defying the conservative clamour, a newspaper made the first public call in Afghanistan for Rahman's release, saying the country could not ignore international opinion when it needed support to fight terrorism and rebuild.

"Afghanistan cannot live in isolation," said the Outlook newspaper, which is funded by a member of parliament who led a faction during civil war in the 1990s.

- Reuters