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How he was sentenced to die
by The Independent
Reposted from:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/how-he-was-sentenced-to-die-786832.html
'What they call my trial lasted just four minutes in a closed court. I was told that I was guilty and the decision was that I was going to die'
By Kim Sengupta in Mazar-I-Sharif, Afghanistan
Monday, 25 February 2008
Clutching the bars at his prison, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh recalls how his life unravelled. "There was no question of me getting a lawyer to represent me in the case; in fact I was not even able to speak on my own defence."
The 23-year-old student, whose death sentence for downloading a report on women's rights from the internet has become an international cause célèbre, was speaking to The Independent at his jail in Mazar-i-Sharif – the first time the outside world has heard his own account of his shattering experience. In a voice soft, somewhat hesitant, he said: "The judges had made up their mind about the case without me. The way they talked to me, looked at me, was the way they look at a condemned man. I wanted to say 'this is wrong, please listen to me', but I was given no chance to explain."
For Mr Kambaksh the four-minute hearing has led to four months of incarceration, sharing a 10 by 12 metre cell with 34 others -- murderers, robbers and terrorists – and having the threat of execution constantly hanging over him. His fate appeared sealed when the Afghan senate passed a motion, proposed by Sibghatullkah Mojeddeid, a key ally of the President Hamid Karzai, confirming the death sentence, although this was later withdrawn after domestic and international protests.
I spoke to Mr Kambaksh at Balkh prison, under the watchful eyes of the warders in their olive green Russian-era uniforms. Here 360 prisoners are packed into a facility for 200, in conditions even the Afghan prison authorities acknowledge are "unacceptable". The inmates, who include 22 women, many convicted of deserting their husbands and adultery, sit around with the forlorn demeanour of those caught up in a vast bureaucratic system with little chance of an early exit.
Since The Independent exposed the case of Mr Kambaksh, eminent public figures such as the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. and Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, have lobbied Mr Karzai to reprieve him. A petition launched by this newspaper calling for justice for Mr Kambaksh has gathered nearly 90,000 signatures.
Standing outside his cell, Mr Kambaksh looked pale and tired, hunched into his brown leather jacket over a dusty white shalwar kameez against the cold, cutting wind of the northern mountains. He had, in the past, been attacked by fundamentalist prisoners at the instigation of a guard who had said he was a heretic, but the intimidation has tailed off in recent weeks. "I am very thankful for what The Independent has done and the publicity in this case. Most of my fellow prisoners know now that I had not done anything so terrible to deserve this, and they have supported me. Some of the guards have also been kind.
"There are still some extremists who insult me, but I am afraid they are the kind who will not change their minds."
Mr Kambaksh's ordeal began in mid- October after the downloading of the document about Islam and women's rights from an Iranian website. He was questioned first by some teachers of religion from the university where he is a student of journalism.
"They said that some other students had said that I had written the article myself. Of course I denied this, I also asked them who these other students were, but they would not give me the names. They have since repeated these accusations, but they have never told me who these students are. I do not know if they exist ..." His voice trailed off as a guard came and stood listening to him. Not all believe in Mr Kambaksh's innocence.
On 27 October he was arrested at the offices of Jahan-e-Naw, a newspaper for which he had carried out reporting assignments. "It was about 10 in the morning. They told me that one of the directors of the NDS [the Afghan national intelligence service] wanted to see me. I was taken to a police station and sat around until 3 o'clock when they said they were arresting me over the website entry. When I protested they said they were doing this for my own safety, otherwise I may be killed."
Mr Kambaksh received visits from his family in the weeks which followed but says that he was not allowed any access to a lawyer. "My family were upset, my father is so worried, I have seen him age in the last few months. I keep telling them to be strong."
On 6 December he was brought before a court in Mazar where the charges against him, accusing him of blasphemy and breaching other tenets of Islamic law, were read out. But then the proceedings concluded without any evidence being presented before the court.
The next hearing, on 12 January, was cancelled after Mr Kambaksh became ill. He arrived at the court at the next session, on 22 January expecting a date to be set for the trial, only to hear numbing news. "They normally sit for just a few hours in the afternoon. I was taken into the court just before it shut at 4 o'clock. There were three judges and a prosecutor and some details of the case were repeated. One of the judges then said to me that I have been found guilty and the sentence was death. I tried to argue, but, as I said, they talked to me like a criminal, they just said I would be taken back to the prison.
"I was totally shocked. Afterwards I sat and tried to calculate just how long they had taken to judge my case. I thought at first it was three minutes, but then I worked out it was four. That was it, I have been in prison ever since. All I can hope now is that something can be done at the appeal. I would really like the appeal to be heard in Kabul, I think I will get a better hearing there."
Following the international outcry over the case, and the campaign by Mr Kambaksh's supporters, Afghanistan's Supreme Court has said that the appeal may take place at Kabul, away from local justice in Mazar, and that the hearing this time would be in the open. Justice Bahahuddin Baha also stated that the student would have the right to legal representation.
"I think if I get to put over my point of view then the judges will see I have done nothing wrong. But then I was entitled under the constitution to have a lawyer and put my defence the last time and that did not happen. I have heard that President Karzai has taken an interest in my case. He can reprieve me, but I do not know what kind of pressure he is under."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/how-he-was-sentenced-to-die-786832.html
'What they call my trial lasted just four minutes in a closed court. I was told that I was guilty and the decision was that I was going to die'
By Kim Sengupta in Mazar-I-Sharif, Afghanistan
Monday, 25 February 2008
Clutching the bars at his prison, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh recalls how his life unravelled. "There was no question of me getting a lawyer to represent me in the case; in fact I was not even able to speak on my own defence."
The 23-year-old student, whose death sentence for downloading a report on women's rights from the internet has become an international cause célèbre, was speaking to The Independent at his jail in Mazar-i-Sharif – the first time the outside world has heard his own account of his shattering experience. In a voice soft, somewhat hesitant, he said: "The judges had made up their mind about the case without me. The way they talked to me, looked at me, was the way they look at a condemned man. I wanted to say 'this is wrong, please listen to me', but I was given no chance to explain."
For Mr Kambaksh the four-minute hearing has led to four months of incarceration, sharing a 10 by 12 metre cell with 34 others -- murderers, robbers and terrorists – and having the threat of execution constantly hanging over him. His fate appeared sealed when the Afghan senate passed a motion, proposed by Sibghatullkah Mojeddeid, a key ally of the President Hamid Karzai, confirming the death sentence, although this was later withdrawn after domestic and international protests.
I spoke to Mr Kambaksh at Balkh prison, under the watchful eyes of the warders in their olive green Russian-era uniforms. Here 360 prisoners are packed into a facility for 200, in conditions even the Afghan prison authorities acknowledge are "unacceptable". The inmates, who include 22 women, many convicted of deserting their husbands and adultery, sit around with the forlorn demeanour of those caught up in a vast bureaucratic system with little chance of an early exit.
Since The Independent exposed the case of Mr Kambaksh, eminent public figures such as the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. and Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, have lobbied Mr Karzai to reprieve him. A petition launched by this newspaper calling for justice for Mr Kambaksh has gathered nearly 90,000 signatures.
Standing outside his cell, Mr Kambaksh looked pale and tired, hunched into his brown leather jacket over a dusty white shalwar kameez against the cold, cutting wind of the northern mountains. He had, in the past, been attacked by fundamentalist prisoners at the instigation of a guard who had said he was a heretic, but the intimidation has tailed off in recent weeks. "I am very thankful for what The Independent has done and the publicity in this case. Most of my fellow prisoners know now that I had not done anything so terrible to deserve this, and they have supported me. Some of the guards have also been kind.
"There are still some extremists who insult me, but I am afraid they are the kind who will not change their minds."
Mr Kambaksh's ordeal began in mid- October after the downloading of the document about Islam and women's rights from an Iranian website. He was questioned first by some teachers of religion from the university where he is a student of journalism.
"They said that some other students had said that I had written the article myself. Of course I denied this, I also asked them who these other students were, but they would not give me the names. They have since repeated these accusations, but they have never told me who these students are. I do not know if they exist ..." His voice trailed off as a guard came and stood listening to him. Not all believe in Mr Kambaksh's innocence.
On 27 October he was arrested at the offices of Jahan-e-Naw, a newspaper for which he had carried out reporting assignments. "It was about 10 in the morning. They told me that one of the directors of the NDS [the Afghan national intelligence service] wanted to see me. I was taken to a police station and sat around until 3 o'clock when they said they were arresting me over the website entry. When I protested they said they were doing this for my own safety, otherwise I may be killed."
Mr Kambaksh received visits from his family in the weeks which followed but says that he was not allowed any access to a lawyer. "My family were upset, my father is so worried, I have seen him age in the last few months. I keep telling them to be strong."
On 6 December he was brought before a court in Mazar where the charges against him, accusing him of blasphemy and breaching other tenets of Islamic law, were read out. But then the proceedings concluded without any evidence being presented before the court.
The next hearing, on 12 January, was cancelled after Mr Kambaksh became ill. He arrived at the court at the next session, on 22 January expecting a date to be set for the trial, only to hear numbing news. "They normally sit for just a few hours in the afternoon. I was taken into the court just before it shut at 4 o'clock. There were three judges and a prosecutor and some details of the case were repeated. One of the judges then said to me that I have been found guilty and the sentence was death. I tried to argue, but, as I said, they talked to me like a criminal, they just said I would be taken back to the prison.
"I was totally shocked. Afterwards I sat and tried to calculate just how long they had taken to judge my case. I thought at first it was three minutes, but then I worked out it was four. That was it, I have been in prison ever since. All I can hope now is that something can be done at the appeal. I would really like the appeal to be heard in Kabul, I think I will get a better hearing there."
Following the international outcry over the case, and the campaign by Mr Kambaksh's supporters, Afghanistan's Supreme Court has said that the appeal may take place at Kabul, away from local justice in Mazar, and that the hearing this time would be in the open. Justice Bahahuddin Baha also stated that the student would have the right to legal representation.
"I think if I get to put over my point of view then the judges will see I have done nothing wrong. But then I was entitled under the constitution to have a lawyer and put my defence the last time and that did not happen. I have heard that President Karzai has taken an interest in my case. He can reprieve me, but I do not know what kind of pressure he is under."
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Posted: Sunday, February 24, 2008 | PermalinkComments 1 - 46 of 46 |
Reload Comments | Back to Top | Page Numbers2. Comment #132507 by Steven Mading on February 24, 2008 at 10:04 pm
And people wonder what we atheists have a problem with theocracy and what's so bad about it.THIS is what's so bad about it.
Other Comments by Steven Mading
3. Comment #132509 by LorienRyan on February 24, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Such arrogance, so much ignorance and needless injustice. 'Religion poisons everything', Christopher, that was not an overstatement. Other Comments by LorienRyan
4. Comment #132511 by mdowe on February 24, 2008 at 10:14 pm
This is so sickening. This poor bastard hasn't done anything wrong regardless of whether or not he is 'guilty' of what he is accused, and that is doubtful. And he is only one -- I imagine that his prison, and the many other prisons in the Islamic world, are packed with such people (particularly the women). For that matter, I sincerely doubt the people in these prisons that are actually guilty of real crimes are likely to receive anything a civilised person would recognise as justice.The most depressing fact of all is that there is no end to this madness in sight.
Other Comments by mdowe
5. Comment #132519 by quill on February 24, 2008 at 11:02 pm
And this is the kind of "democracy" that my country is putting in place worldwide.Disgusting. Why isn't our President doing something about this? Or the US Congress? I'm sure there are thousands more people like Mr. Kambaksh being persecuted by the Afghan government, and yet not one peep of criticism has come out of my country's official administration except for that of Condoleeza Rice.
Other Comments by quill
6. Comment #132528 by latsot on February 24, 2008 at 11:30 pm
As so often, the religious believe that the end justifies the means. In the society I'm used to, this is most apparent in the religious lying about evidence for things like evolution (there are no transitional forms etc.) or indoctrinating their children with their own beliefs.This story shows just how far it can go. They have to be thinking something like "if we let people learn how things could be different, the whole precarious edifice could come crashing down....we need to make an example of some random person by murdering them."
I'm convinced that this kind of conclusion can only be achieved by people who know - at some level - that what they are doing is deeply wrong. What makes them do it anyway is religion, which allows them to justify it.
Other Comments by latsot
7. Comment #132537 by j s bach on February 25, 2008 at 12:07 am
And my countrymen are losing their lives for this shit hole of a nation. Other Comments by j s bach
8. Comment #132540 by Bonzai on February 25, 2008 at 12:15 am
Yeah, I wonder if the current regime is really a whole lot better than the Talibans,Other Comments by Bonzai
9. Comment #132547 by zoomlines on February 25, 2008 at 1:09 am
I would be interested to see the document. Does anyone know where you can find it?For what it's worth, The Independent are running a petition:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sign-our-petitionbrbr-we-the-undersigned-urge-the-uk-foreign-office-to-put-all-possible-pressure-on-the-afghan-government-to-prevent-the-execution-of-sayed-pervez-kambaksh-brbr-775954.html
Other Comments by zoomlines
10. Comment #132552 by scottishgeologist on February 25, 2008 at 1:19 am
Ah yes, theocratic persecution and killing of dissenters. How about this:
"Whoever shall maintain that wrong is done to heretics and blasphemers in punishing them makes himself an accomplice in their crime and guilty as they are. There is no question here of man's authority; it is God who speaks, and clear it is what law he will have kept in the church, even to the end of the world. Wherefore does he demand of us a so extreme severity, if not to show us that due honor is not paid him, so long as we set not his service above every human consideration, so that we spare not kin, nor blood of any, and forget all humanity when the matter is to combat for His glory"
John Calvin, justifying the killing of Servetus, who was burned at the stake for denying the trinity. Burned with a copy of his "heretical" book chained to his leg.
Muzzies are doing today what our lot did 450 odd years ago.
Other Comments by scottishgeologist
11. Comment #132553 by Corylus on February 25, 2008 at 1:21 am
CartomancerWhy?Lots of reasons, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the fact that he downloaded the material was an inflaming factor. There does appear to be a big fear of the general population gaining free access to information amoungst hardline religious types. Even in some of the supposedly moderate countries, there are constant attacks to block it. See What happened in Pakistan recently.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7262071.stm
For the Christian version (to be used by kids when home schooling) check out the site Conservapedia.
http://www.conservapedia.com/Main_Page
These people are right to be scared of the internet. The more people learn, the more they think and more they question those in authority.
Joe Public online may just break the stranglehold of fundamentism. Joanna Public on line (learning that there are places when she can get a job and not get married if she doesn't want to). That might just be the beginning of the end.
Other Comments by Corylus
12. Comment #132557 by sarah95 on February 25, 2008 at 1:26 am
"There are still some extremists who insult me, but I am afraid they are the kind who will not change their minds."
What other kinds of extremists are there? I doubt any extremist even really uses his mind, much less changes it.
What a nightmare. I wouldn't be able to keep it together if I was sentenced to death in four minutes and kept in a jail with jihadists for a crime I didn't commit(or shouldn't have been a crime, I don't know what the specifics are). I'm glad that he was able to talk to The Independent. Hopefully that made him feel a bit better, being able to say things that he knew the world would read.
Let's hope that somebody gives Karzai a good kick in the pants so he'll reprieve him.
j s bach and bonzai, I agree. It tears me up inside to know that American guys my age are dying in efforts to keep that hopeless pile of shit of a country running. I know "hopeless pile of shit" is pessimistic, but I don't see how such madness can be remedied from the outside. If their society pushes back every time social progress is mentioned, no one's going to succeed in "bringing it to them".
Other Comments by sarah95
13. Comment #132563 by Quetzalcoatl on February 25, 2008 at 1:33 am
The problem is that the Afghan government's control extends precisely as far as the edges of Kabul. The rest of the country is controlled by warlords, tribal chiefs or the Taliban. This is Karzai's latest way of appeasing the fanatics.
Sarah95- I agree entirely. So far I see very little sign that they are willing to change. At the moment it looks as if once foreign troops leave, things will just slide back to the way they were.
Other Comments by Quetzalcoatl
14. Comment #132566 by AfraidToDie on February 25, 2008 at 1:37 am
I'm curious as to what a "23 year old student" is doing in that particular area? It's not a place I would consider going to school. Is he associated with some activist group that the Afgans detest. No matter why he is there, to say he most certainly does not deserve prison is an extreme understatement! Just curious about how and why he is there? Other Comments by AfraidToDie
15. Comment #132569 by Bonzai on February 25, 2008 at 1:40 am
I'm curious as to what a "23 year old student" is doing in that particular area?
Seems that he is Afghan and he is there because it is his home.
Other Comments by Bonzai
16. Comment #132570 by Quetzalcoatl on February 25, 2008 at 1:41 am
Afraidtodie-
huh? He's an Afghan. Where else would he be?
Other Comments by Quetzalcoatl
17. Comment #132573 by irate_atheist on February 25, 2008 at 1:53 am
10. Comment #132552 by scottishgeologist -
Indeed. And some people wonder why I'm 'Irate'.
Other Comments by irate_atheist
18. Comment #132576 by Bonzai on February 25, 2008 at 1:57 am
Afghanistan would probably have been better off under the Soviets. At least women got to go to school and people don't get killed for blasphemy.Other Comments by Bonzai
19. Comment #132580 by LorienRyan on February 25, 2008 at 2:05 am
Indeed. And some people wonder why I'm 'Irate'.
Oh, I thought it was because that's what your mother called you, and I was wondering what your middle name was - irate _?_ atheist:)
Other Comments by LorienRyan
20. Comment #132598 by notsobad on February 25, 2008 at 2:57 am
And my countrymen are losing their lives for this shit hole of a nation.
Way to generalize.
Afghanistan would probably have been better off under the Soviets. At least women got to go to school and people don't get killed for blasphemy.
The Soviets only supported the Afghan communists, who could have been as bad as North Korea.
Other Comments by notsobad
21. Comment #132599 by Bonzai on February 25, 2008 at 3:00 am
The Soviet Union in the 1980's was not nearly as bad as North Korea.Other Comments by Bonzai
22. Comment #132600 by Double Bass Atheist on February 25, 2008 at 3:02 am
And my countrymen are losing their lives for this shit hole of a nation
JS Bach - I had very similar thoughts while reading this. Afghanistan is supposed to be one the of the "success stories" so to speak.
His fate appeared sealed when the Afghan senate passed a motion, proposed by Sibghatullkah Mojeddeid, a key ally of the President Hamid Karzai, confirming the death sentence
The senate?!?! And these are supposed to be the educated ones! Fanatics in the populace is at least expected; unfortunate, but expected. However, this is the official government position!
Sad. So sad.
Other Comments by Double Bass Atheist
23. Comment #132612 by rod-the-farmer on February 25, 2008 at 3:35 am
I wrote to, and/or telephoned my Canadian Member of Parliament, the Canadian Prime Minister, and Mr. Karzai, the leader of Afghanistan. My point was that Canadian troops are dying in Afghanistan, but that we should call them all home the very next day if this man is executed. We are there to help defend the legitimate government of that country, because they share at least some of our beliefs. The circumstances of this mans' alleged crime indicate we do NOT share beliefs, and therefore the Canadian troops should be brought home. To date I have not had a response from any of them, but I have heard the Canadian government expressed their concern over this issue, to Mr. Karzai. Other Comments by rod-the-farmer
24. Comment #132644 by bucketchemist on February 25, 2008 at 4:28 am
It seems to me there are three related issues here1. Did he break the law of that country?
2. Did he get a trial that was in line with that country's official practices?
3. Is the law that he may have broken a just law?
If the answer to 1 and 2 is yes, then we have nothing to say about this individual case. The rule of law is a necessary prerequisite for any kind of organised society. If we feel strongly enough that the answer to 3 is No; that the law, even if properly applied, is unjust, (and I am assuming most of us do), then we can only campaign vigorously for its change, without reference to this unfortunate young man.
The only alternative I can think of to this combination of insisting on the rule of law combined with campaigning for changes to this law is to offer citizenship and safe passage to any Afghan (Iraqi, Korean etc.) who wishes to live in a different society under different laws.
Other Comments by bucketchemist
25. Comment #132645 by notsobad on February 25, 2008 at 4:28 am
The Soviet Union was not, the Afghan communists might have been.----
Anyway:
Pakistan declares war on YouTube
http://blogs.zdnet.com/threatchaos/?p=547
Pakistan has ordered all Internet service providers to block the YouTube website for containing "blasphemous" content and material considered offensive to Islam, officials said Sunday.
Other Comments by notsobad
26. Comment #132652 by hungarianelephant on February 25, 2008 at 4:46 am
bucketchemist - That's an odd interpretation of the rule of law.Most jurists would say that at the very least, it also includes the concept of due process. This doesn't just mean that the procedures are laid down in advance, but also that there's some reasonable opportunity to put your case. A four minute hearing, without access to a lawyer or opportunity to speak, doesn't constitute any meaningful standard of due process.
Other Comments by hungarianelephant
27. Comment #132658 by bucketchemist on February 25, 2008 at 4:59 am
Most jurists would say that at the very least, it also includes the concept of due process. This doesn't just mean that the procedures are laid down in advance, but also that there's some reasonable opportunity to put your case. A four minute hearing, without access to a lawyer or opportunity to speak, doesn't constitute any meaningful standard of due process.
I would agree, although due process is a concept inherent in US and UK law, but I'm not sure it features in Afghanistan, I would suspect not.
Other Comments by bucketchemist
28. Comment #132663 by Bonzai on February 25, 2008 at 5:14 am
nosobadPakistan declares war on YouTube
Pakistan is the prime example of a country completely fucked up by religion,--poor, backward, violent and superstitious YET they incredibly believe that they are the model of moral righteousness while all the infidels are going to hell. I have had exchanges with some Pakistani Muslims online and what struck me was their absolute confidence of their moral superiority. The name Pakistan means, get it, land of the pure.
If Pakistan is being rewarded for its "submission" Allah sure has a wicked sense of humour, These idiots prove certainly that humans evolved from apes, some of us are still steeped in apehood...
Other Comments by Bonzai
29. Comment #132667 by scottishgeologist on February 25, 2008 at 5:24 am
War on YouTube. Utterly ridiculous. In Scotland at any rate, "tube" is used as an insult "yah f****** tube!" (Ususally pronounced choob)
Seems very appropriate here
Bunch o' tubes.
Wonder what else they'll try to censor? About.com has got some very funny cartoons they probably dont like:
eg:
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/bltalibansingles.htm
:-)))))
Other Comments by scottishgeologist
30. Comment #132675 by Bonzai on February 25, 2008 at 5:39 am
The Soviet Union was not, the Afghan communists might have been.
Might be, but nothing compares to the scourge of Islam fundamentalism. Anyone who would fuck the Mullahs and drag that country to even the 19th century would be doing it a great favour.
Other Comments by Bonzai
31. Comment #132680 by etteridge on February 25, 2008 at 5:58 am
Apart from the insanity of the situation itself (which has been covered greatly here already),we have the western liberal left moral/cultural relativists who are not outraged at the Afghan government or muslim judges, putting it down to cultural differences.The mullahs have ignorance as their 'excuse' we in the west have no such reason to tolerate such barbarity of thought.Other Comments by etteridge
32. Comment #132694 by al-rawandi on February 25, 2008 at 6:12 am
I spoke to a friend in the Afghan government. He seems convinced that this guy will not be executed. That they are going to make an example of him and quietly shuffle him out the back door. Probably for rellocation in the west. Other Comments by al-rawandi
33. Comment #132702 by Styrer- on February 25, 2008 at 6:28 am
I spoke to a friend in the Afghan government. He seems convinced that this guy will not be executed. That they are going to make an example of him and quietly shuffle him out the back door. Probably for rellocation in the west.
Impressive source, Al-rawandi. All possible pressure should of course be maintained, but this information at least hints at some hope.
Best,
Styrer
Other Comments by Styrer-
34. Comment #132707 by dj2baduk on February 25, 2008 at 6:36 am
I heard that some warlord or other was trying to get at this guy's brother because he reported them in a bad light. It seems it may be another case of corrupt politics using religious fanaticism for its own ends. I don't think they counted on quite so much international publicity though. I bet this guy is really glad he has a lot of friends in the journalism business. Just spare a moment's thought for the other poor souls who weren't so lucky. That said - I really do feel for him and I hope it ends well. Other Comments by dj2baduk
35. Comment #132711 by al-rawandi on February 25, 2008 at 6:41 am
Styrer,
I think that as far as the Afghan government goes, mostly the American appointed and/or supported officials would not like to see this person executed. It would endanger their sources of funding and make them look additionally foolish.
If people will remember, there was an Afghan man who converted to Christianity. He was sentenced to death. He has been released and allowed to leave Afghanistan. I think he was not very religious and converted in order to escape Afghanistan with the support of the Roman Catholic Church. It worked, the church intervened.
Other Comments by al-rawandi
36. Comment #132719 by hungarianelephant on February 25, 2008 at 6:52 am
bucketchemist - I would agree, although due process is a concept inherent in US and UK law, but I'm not sure it features in Afghanistan, I would suspect not.I have no idea whether it features explicitly or not. The point is that the rule of law does require it. This is not simply a question of whether the law is a just one or not. In other words, I don't think you can jump straight to your question 3.
Other Comments by hungarianelephant
37. Comment #132724 by Styrer- on February 25, 2008 at 6:57 am
Al-rawandiAlmost farcical, having to witness in the example you mention the assistance of one superstitious, immoral institution in overcoming the evil actions of another.
But when people's lives are literally on the line, it's simply morally correct expediency to allow such 'diplomacy' to do its work.
It's at times like this that I'm reminded that we really haven't a moment to lose in proclaiming loudly and relentlessly that faith simply has to be eradicated if we're ever to see, as the Hitch put it better than I can, ' humankind reach something like its true height'.
Best,
Styrer
Other Comments by Styrer-
38. Comment #132758 by Mango on February 25, 2008 at 7:26 am
The British schoolteacher in Sudan who named a teddy bear Muhammad; the young woman in Saudi Arabia who was gang-raped and convicted of being alone with a man who was not a family member; and now this case.Seems there is always at least one cause celebre in the news that draws the distinction between secular and sharia law. The Western countries can petition for the acquittal of a few cases here and there, but the brutality of sharia is endemic.
I anticipate that the justice and value systems of secular and Islamic countries will continue to diverge and these tragic cases will only become more intolerable to those who care about human rights.
Other Comments by Mango
39. Comment #132760 by tduvally on February 25, 2008 at 7:29 am
The seeds of this happening in the USA will come from a very bad proposed law, the Workplace Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It will start with people voicing annoyance that someone isn't "religious enough", and having resumes list their religious affiliations, and will lead to the state allowing religious goon squads to wander the streets looking for heretics, because to stop them would be a violation of their religious rights!I've been saying this for a while: The "west" isn't centuries AHEAD of Islam, we are a generation BEHIND them!
Other Comments by tduvally
40. Comment #132769 by rod-the-farmer on February 25, 2008 at 7:39 am
Regarding comment #39, by tduvallyI think you may have this all wrong. What I found on the web here
http://nycreligiousfreedombills.com/wrfr.aspx
is pretty much the opposite of what you suggest is the idea behind it.
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41. Comment #132775 by irate_atheist on February 25, 2008 at 7:45 am
19. Comment #132580 by LorienRyan -
irate_atheist is my last name - double barrelled.
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42. Comment #132892 by 4horsefins on February 25, 2008 at 11:26 am
blasphemy = deathHold the theist's feet to the fire on this one. Make them say it is barbaric. This type of consciousness raising sharpens our sword of intellectual penetration.
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43. Comment #133076 by Tack on February 25, 2008 at 3:11 pm
@rod-the-farmer:I also emailed my MP (Andrew Telegdi), in early February when I first heard of this story, and I got reasonable response a few days later:
Dear Mr. Tackaberry,
On behalf of Mr. Telegdi, I would like to thank you for your email
alerting our office of this case. I have shown your correspondence to
Mr. Telegdi along with the information contained in the link you sent
and he completely agrees with you that this is indeed a terrible
situation. Mr. Telegdi has instructed me to send a letter to the Hon.
Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs to request Canada's
intervention.
Sincerely,
Rachelle
Rachelle Cyr-Kelderman
Special Assistant
Hon. Andrew Telegdi, P.C., M.P.
[...]
And several minutes later, I was copied on this email, which Mr. Telegdi's assistant sent to the Foreign Affairs minister:
Hon. Maxime Bernier, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dear Minister,
On behalf of the Hon. Andrew Telegdi, P.C., M.P. for Kitchener-Waterloo,
I am forwarding to your attention an email from a constituent who is
concerned with the fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh , a 23 year old
journalism student who has been sentenced to death in Afghanistan. This
case has sparked pressure from international groups who have started a
petition to Afghanistan's President asking him to repeal the death
sentence.
Mr. Telegdi is appealing to you to contact President Karzai and ask him
to overturn this sentence. In Canada, the abolition of the death penalty
is considered to be a principle of fundamental justice and we have
played a key role in denouncing the use of capital punishment at the
international level.
I would like to thank you in advance for your attention towards this
very serious issue and look forward to being copied with your response
to Mr. Tackaberry.
Sincerely,
Rachelle Cyr-Kelderman
Special Assistant
Hon. Andrew Telegdi, P.C., M.P.
[...]
Other Comments by Tack
44. Comment #133136 by info_dump on February 25, 2008 at 4:43 pm
43. Comment #133076 by Tack - Good to see that some of our MPs are responding. I sent an e-mail to my MP and never heard back.
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45. Comment #133759 by mc on February 26, 2008 at 5:17 pm
It seems to me there are three related issues here
1. Did he break the law of that country?
2. Did he get a trial that was in line with that country's official practices?
3. Is the law that he may have broken a just law?
If the answer to 1 and 2 is yes, then we have nothing to say about this individual case. The rule of law is a necessary prerequisite for any kind of organised society. If we feel strongly enough that the answer to 3 is No; that the law, even if properly applied, is unjust, (and I am assuming most of us do), then we can only campaign vigorously for its change, without reference to this unfortunate young man.
Your conclusion doesnt follow from your premise. You are for one forgetting human rights law, including customary international law, which should take precedence over the national law used in this case and provide a basis for action on the individual case
The only alternative I can think of to this combination of insisting on the rule of law combined with campaigning for changes to this law is to offer citizenship and safe passage to any Afghan (Iraqi, Korean etc.) who wishes to live in a different society under different laws.
That's why we have international refugee law!
Human rights as an essentially secular enterprise not only provides a non-religious basis for articulating a system of morals (& law) but while protecting freedom of religion also (should) protects against this and much other abuse.
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46. Comment #133971 by CJ22 on February 27, 2008 at 5:17 am
I'm pretty sure that if the US and the UK threatened to withdraw their military and financial support if no judicial reform was forthcoming, we'd see this issue dealt with right quick. Other Comments by CJ22
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1. Comment #132506 by Cartomancer on February 24, 2008 at 9:54 pm
How can people live this way? How can this sort of thing happen in the twenty-first century? I am at a total loss to grasp just how differently these people think from the way I do, just how skewed and twisted and poisonous their minds have become. I simply do not understand this.
Why?
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