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This post was updated and bumped so that you can help save this young man’s life by taking a few seconds to sign the petition at The Independent —HERE.
It only takes a few seconds.
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Afghan student-writer Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh was sentenced to death for insulting Islam.
The 23 year-old student and writer downloaded an anti-Islamic report from the internet in 2007 relating to the role of women in Islamic societies and handed copies out to his friends.
For this, an Afghan court sentenced him to death for the crime of blasphemy!
The death sentence was supported by the Afghan Senate today.
And… The Afghan government was upset that foreigners tried to pressure the country’s government and judiciary “as they pursued people like Mr Kambaksh.”
The BBC reported:
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.
Apparently, the protest last week by Afghan journalists of Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh did not sway the government.
The author of the internet article Arash Bikhoda who lives in Europe feels horrible about Kambaksh’s death sentence.
Previously:
Afghan Journalist Sentenced to Death On “Blasphemy” Charges
Afghan Journalists Protest Young Writer’s Death Sentence
UPDATE: (Thursday) The Independent has more this morning on the case against Pervez:
The Independent is launching a campaign to save Kambaksh:
The Independent is launching a campaign today to secure justice for Mr Kambaksh. The UN, human rights groups, journalists’ organisations and Western diplomats have urged Mr Karzai’s government to intervene and free him. But the Afghan Senate passed a motion yesterday confirming the death sentence.
The MP who proposed the ruling condemning Mr Kambaksh was Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, a key ally of Mr Karzai. The Senate also attacked the international community for putting pressure on the Afghan government and urged Mr Karzai not to be influenced by outside un-Islamic views.
You can help…
Add your weight to the campaign by urging the Foreign Office to demand that his life be spared. Sign our e-petition at www.independent.co.uk/petition.
