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Democracy On The March Update.
From the BBC (thanks to PRCS):
The upper house of the Afghan parliament has supported a death sentence issued against a journalist for blasphemy in northern Afghanistan.Pervez Kambaksh, 23, was convicted last week of downloading and distributing an article insulting Islam. He has denied the charge.
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.
Concerns
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, told the BBC 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, told the BBC 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.
Precisely.
Posted by Robert at January 30, 2008 9:57 AM
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The Afghan MPs are not being 'culturally sensitivie' in their call for blasphemy death.
I guess 'multiculturalism' is not a Muslim thing?
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at January 30, 2008 10:04 AM
The US gub'mint should stop all financial aid immediately if this journalist is executed.
Did we go there to preserve shria law?
Go Romney for President.
He at least calls out islamic terrorism by name unlike all the other cowards in both parties.
I saw him do in on FOX News last Friday and it was refreshing to hear someone speak OPENLY about the deadliest threat facing this nation.
Posted by: Hungarian Crusader at January 30, 2008 10:27 AM
George W Bush Democratization Program at work. W knows a budding democracy when he sees one, right?
Posted by: TheOmegaMan at January 30, 2008 10:37 AM
Well that was money well spent.
This is why we didn't let Japan insert Shintoism into it's constitution, state mandated religion is incompatible with democracy.
Posted by: walterc at January 30, 2008 11:53 AM
Our tax dollars at work.
In order for there to be "moderate" Moslems, there must be a moderate Islam.
Not much (in fact, very little) of the Qur'an is moderate. Obey the laws of Islam and live. Disobey and die. Not a lot of moderation there.
The religious wars in Europe taught the founders of this country an important lesson. "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's..............
Posted by: tanstaafl at January 30, 2008 12:11 PM
Do you know what this smells of, give me some money and we will set him free. We Brits had the same problem with the Afghans in the 19th century. They are exceedingly good at this form of Moral blackmail. The only time we were free from this type of importuning, was when we put Brigadier General John Nicholson in charge of the frontier provinces. His solution was somewhat robust, and certainly not in tune with the P.C. orthodoxy of the present day. Unfortunately our Judges are not allowed to bring the heads of criminals like these into a court room today to, how can I say it, concentrate the minds of mischief makers, and religious bigots.
Posted by: Holger Dansker at January 30, 2008 1:56 PM
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