Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, was arrested in 2007 after downloading material from the internet relating to the role of women in Islamic societies.
A primary court in Balkh province said that Kambakhsh had confessed to blasphemy and had to be punished.
The court also threatened to arrest any reporters who protested against Kambakhsh's sentence.
Kambakhsh, a student at Balkh University and a journalist for Jahan-e Naw (New World), was arrested in October 2007 after material he downloaded was deemed to be offensive to Islam.
Shamsur Rahman, the head of the court, told Reuters news agency: "According to... the Islamic law, Sayed Perwiz is sentenced to death at the first court.
"However, he will go through three more courts to declare his last punishment," he said.
'Deeply shocked'
Balkh province's deputy attorney general, Hafizullah Khaliqyar, warned other journalists that they would be arrested if they attempted to support Kambakhsh.
But Agence France-Presse reported that journalists were gathering outside the home of the condemned reporter.
The sentence has been welcomed by conservative Islamic clerics in Afghanistan but criticised by international human rights groups.
Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said it was "deeply shocked" by the trial and appealed to President Hamid Karzai to intervene "before it is too late".
In a statement, the group said the trial was "carried out in haste and without any concern for the law or for free expression, which is protected by the constitution".
"Kambakhsh did not do anything to justify his being detained or being given this sentence."
Kambakhsh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, said the verdict was "very unfair" and appealed for help from the international community, reported Reuters.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7204341.stm
Holy crap (literally)! I am tired of saying that Islamic law is outdated and oppressive and just plain stupid, but damn it, there are just so many examples of how it continues to demonstrate it is ill-prepared to join us in 21st century (or even the 18th century). Not to mention a "religious court" is always going to be a problem. It is a danger to liberty and equality and everything that at least I hold dear. Ugh... I am at such a loss.
***For another fun story involving Muslims indirectly, but more on how "political correctness" and extreme "cultural sensitivity" are completely moronic, check out:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7204635.stm
2 comments:
I think the US should put together a quick response force to send to Afghanistan and rewrite all of its laws so that they accord with modern values and ethics. I would also like to suggest that Mike Huckabee lead the expedition as his tireless pursuit of secular equality, fairness, and reason is a shining beacon that will clearly illuminate the way for all of the backwards fools living in the darkness of religion.
Wait...I meant that Mike Huckabee should be elected president of Afghanistan because, with the exception of that pesky Christian-Muslim debate, many of his views and those of his followers are only about a century away from those espoused by the Islamic courts.
In all seriousness, though, religion has no place in law. Whether it's Huckabee wanting to amend the constitution to reflect the values of the Bible, social conservative who argue that the US was intended to be a "Christian" nation, or Islamic courts and Shari'a in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan imprisoning victims of rape or anyone who questions or criticizes Islam.
Ah well....maybe Afghanistan would have been better off it had been dominated by a staunchly secular Soviet-backed regime. Now Communists, they knew how to quash religion. Holy law my ass! The Party will tell you what to believe!
So....wow.
Ironically, I think a Nobel Peace prize should go to the evil genius who finds a way to shave off half of the earth, and send it hurtling into the sun.
Post a Comment