now, the guy with the rifle is a freed afghani, and not a talibani. ;) big difference i'm sure.
Posted on 01/31/2008 6:53:25 PM PST by Lorianne
23-year old has been sentenced to death for downloading information about women's rights in Afghanistan.
Journalist Pervez Kambaksh was reading about the role of women in Islamic socieites.
But he was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.
Yesterday the upper house of the Afghan parliament supported the sentence against the journalist, despite an international outcry over the harsh punishment for blasphemy.
The UN has criticised the sentence and said the journalist did not have legal representation during the case.
The Afghan government has said that the sentence was not final.
A government spokesman said recently that the case would be handled "very carefully".
Now the Afghan Senate has issued a statement on the case - it was not voted on but was signed by its leader, Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, an ally of President Hamid Karzai.
It said the upper house approved the death sentence conferred on Mr Kambaksh by a city court in Mazar-e-Sharif.
It also strongly criticised what it called those institutions and foreign sources which, it said, had tried to pressurise the country's government and judiciary as they pursued people like Mr Kambaksh.
Some governments and international organisations have called for the sentence to be overturned.
A legal expert, Wadeer Safi, said that parliament was not constitutionally allowed to intervene in a case in the way the Senate had done, and he was concerned the new statement might prejudice the independence of the judges.
Mr Kambaksh's brother, Yacoub Kambaksh, said that the journalist was very concerned about his future and said he had not had a fair trial or any lawyer to defend him.
But the provincial governor in Mazar has said the case is being handled with due process.
Mr Kambaksh has at least two more courts in which to appeal and the sentence would have to be approved by President Karzai to be carried out.
He is a student at Balkh University and a journalist for Jahan-e Naw (New World).
He was arrested in 2007 after downloading material relating to the role of women in Islamic societies.
Not a lot different from the Canadian Human Rights Commission....
They had a chance to become a nation, and they adopt an Islamic constitution...
Lather, rinse, repeat.
DUDE !!
Gads, its not like he was downloading porn; that is reserved for the Imams...
Our brilliant foreign policy in action. Is this what American blood made Afganistan safe for?
Looks like the whole Freedom and Democracy thing is going just swimmingly over there.
This is the government Americans fought and died to install,? Outrageous .
This is what our soldiers gave up their lives for?
This must have American journalists confused. Should they support their fellow journalist, or the oppressors they’re already supporting? What to do?
Oh, just wait til you see how Iraq turns out. So far its an Islamic Republic lead by Al Dawa, big Khomeni fans, with a history of terrorist attacks on American interests.
now, the guy with the rifle is a freed afghani, and not a talibani. ;) big difference i'm sure.
Oh, just wait til you see how Iraq turns out. So far its an Islamic Republic lead by Al Dawa, big Khomeni fans, with a history of terrorist attacks on American interests.
Keep saying Freedom and Democracy over and over, Georgie.
The minute Afghanistan and Iran installed muslim governments we should have pulled our troops out.
Let the muzzies kill themselves - just stay away from the USA.
This is what our soldiers gave up their lives for?
Yeah, and they are fighting to keep us free to have homosexual marriage.
GET THEM OUT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VAPORIZATION THE ULTIMATE ANSWER.
With McCain or Rodham or Obama coming next to the White House, the time to get our guys and gals out of these basket case countries is now.
With Rodham in the Oval Office, would anyone recommend that their son or daughter sign up for military service overseas?
I’m not asking a rhetorical question here. Imagine how quickly an Obama White House or McCain White House would yield to the dictates of Shariah if one of our soldiers was indicted by local authorities in Afghanistan or Iraq and caught in a legal crossfire.
I could fully support the war as long as I knew that a patriotic, if sometimes misguided White House was in charge. But with a Blame America First president on watch, disaster seems likely. Mr. Bush: Get out now.
Huh?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.