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withdrawn.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.