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Afghan Student Faces Death for Blasphemy

Journalist condemned for reading document on women, Koran

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 31, 2008 8:43 AM CST
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(Newser) – Protesters in Afghanistan and abroad have taken up the cause of a journalism student sentenced to death for blasphemy after he downloaded and distributed a document on women and the Koran. Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, 23, was convicted in an Islamic court, and the country's Senate has upheld the ruling. He appears on the cover of today's Independent alongside calls for his release.

Senior clerics in Afghanistan have come down hard on Kambaksh, whom they accuse of insulting the Koran. But within the country and internationally, observers say the sentence is intended to stamp out the free press—Kambsaksh's brother has also written exposés on the criminal activity of officials. "How can we believe in this 'democracy' if we can't even read, we can't even study?" asked the head of the journalists' union.

Moulvi Shamas-ul- Rehman Moomand head of the Primary Provincial Appeals Court, who has sentenced Sayad Parwez Kambaksh to death gestures during a press conference at the court in Mazar-i-Sharif the capital of Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008. The court sentenced the 23-year-old journalism student to...
Moulvi Shamas-ul- Rehman Moomand head of the Primary Provincial Appeals Court, who has sentenced Sayad Parwez Kambaksh to death gestures during a press conference at the court in Mazar-i-Sharif the capital...   (Associated Press)
Afghan journalists wait to enter the Primary Provincial Appeals Court in Mazar-i-Sharif the capital of Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. An Afghan court sentenced a 23-year-old journalism student to death for distributing a paper he printed off the Internet that three judges said violated the...
Afghan journalists wait to enter the Primary Provincial Appeals Court in Mazar-i-Sharif the capital of Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. An Afghan court sentenced...   (Associated Press)
Sayed Pervez Kambaksh appears on the cover of The Independent, calling for his release.
Sayed Pervez Kambaksh appears on the cover of The Independent, calling for his release.   (www.independent.co.uk)
An Afghan security policeman stands guard in front of the gate of the jail where Afghan journalist Sayad Parwez Kambaksh is held in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. An Afghan court sentenced the 23-year-old journalism student to death for distributing a...
An Afghan security policeman stands guard in front of the gate of the jail where Afghan journalist Sayad Parwez Kambaksh is held in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan,...   (Associated Press)
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World • Media

 
Afghanistan • Taliban • Hamid Karzai • journalism • Koran • Muslim women • blasphemy • Sayed Pervez Kambaksh

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