Afghan Christian could be executed
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 4:37 pm
I found these articles at work today.......
Toronto Sun March 20 2006
Christian could die for rejecting Islam
Kabul- An Afghan who allegedly converted from Islam to Christianity is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death, a judge said yesterday.Abdul Rahman was arrested last month after his family went to the police and accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada said.Such a conversion violates the country's Islamic laws.Rahman, believed to be 41, was charged with rejecting Islam when his trial started last week, the judge said.During the hearing, the defendant allegedly confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago when he was 25 and working as a medical aid worker for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Mawlavezada said.
Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah Law, which states that any Muslim who rejects his religion should be sentenced to death.
"We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan this sort of thing is against the law," the judge said. "It is an attack on Islam...The prosecutor is asking for the death penalty."The prosecutor, Abdul Waski, said that the case was the first of its kind in Afghanistan.
He said that he had offered to drop the charges if Rahman changed his religion back to Islam, but the defendant refused.Mawlavezada said he would rule on the case in two months.Afghanistan is a deeply conservative society and 99% of its 28 million people are Muslim.The remaining minority is mostly Hindu.
Toronto Sun March 23 2006
Christian Afghan 'could be mad'
Kabul- An Afghan man facing a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity may be mentally unfit to stand trial a state prosecutor said yesterday.Abdul Rahman, 41, has been charged with rejecting Islam, a crime under this country's Islamic laws. His trial started last week and he confessed to becoming Christian 16 years ago. If convicted, he could be executed.But prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said questions have been raised about Rahman's mental fitness.
"We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn't talk like a normal person," said Zamari.Canada, the U.S. and other countries that have troops in Afghanistan have voiced concern about Rahman's fate.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed the issue with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a telephone call yesterday."Upon the conclusion of the call, he assured me that respect for human and religious rights will be fully upheld in this case," Harper said.Franklin Pyles, president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, said his organization is appalled Rahman's life is at risk for converting to Christianity.
Toronto Sun March 20 2006
Christian could die for rejecting Islam
Kabul- An Afghan who allegedly converted from Islam to Christianity is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death, a judge said yesterday.Abdul Rahman was arrested last month after his family went to the police and accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada said.Such a conversion violates the country's Islamic laws.Rahman, believed to be 41, was charged with rejecting Islam when his trial started last week, the judge said.During the hearing, the defendant allegedly confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago when he was 25 and working as a medical aid worker for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Mawlavezada said.
Afghanistan's constitution is based on Shariah Law, which states that any Muslim who rejects his religion should be sentenced to death.
"We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan this sort of thing is against the law," the judge said. "It is an attack on Islam...The prosecutor is asking for the death penalty."The prosecutor, Abdul Waski, said that the case was the first of its kind in Afghanistan.
He said that he had offered to drop the charges if Rahman changed his religion back to Islam, but the defendant refused.Mawlavezada said he would rule on the case in two months.Afghanistan is a deeply conservative society and 99% of its 28 million people are Muslim.The remaining minority is mostly Hindu.
Toronto Sun March 23 2006
Christian Afghan 'could be mad'
Kabul- An Afghan man facing a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity may be mentally unfit to stand trial a state prosecutor said yesterday.Abdul Rahman, 41, has been charged with rejecting Islam, a crime under this country's Islamic laws. His trial started last week and he confessed to becoming Christian 16 years ago. If convicted, he could be executed.But prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said questions have been raised about Rahman's mental fitness.
"We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn't talk like a normal person," said Zamari.Canada, the U.S. and other countries that have troops in Afghanistan have voiced concern about Rahman's fate.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed the issue with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a telephone call yesterday."Upon the conclusion of the call, he assured me that respect for human and religious rights will be fully upheld in this case," Harper said.Franklin Pyles, president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, said his organization is appalled Rahman's life is at risk for converting to Christianity.