Possible release of Abdul Rahman

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4841812.stm

Afghan convert 'may be released'

I am not a deserter and not an infidel [/b]

Abdul Rahman

An Afghan man facing execution for converting to Christianity "could be released soon", a senior Afghan government official has said.

The official told the BBC a special government meeting on the case of Abdul Rahman would be held on Saturday.

Mr Rahman is on trial charged with rejecting Islam. He could be executed under Sharia law unless he reconverts.

Many world leaders, including those with troops in Afghanistan, have expressed concern about the trial.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Friday: "This is appalling. When I saw the report about this I felt sick, literally."

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice phoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai seeking a "favourable resolution" to the case.

Mounting criticism

Austria, current holders of the European Union's rotating presidency, said they would strive to protect Abdul Rahman.

"We will leave no stone unturned to protect the fundamental rights of Abdul Rahman and to save his life," Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said.

The Afghan government says it is up to the judiciary to decide Abdul Rahman's fate.

But, the Afghan judiciary is dominated by religious conservatives, and many feel it will be difficult for the president and the government to confront the judiciary, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Kabul says.

The bigger problem confronting the president, however, may be that an overwhelming number of ordinary Afghans appear to believe Mr Rahman has erred and deserves to be executed, he says.

Nevertheless, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday that he had received assurance from President Karzai that Mr Rahman would not be executed.

"He (Karzai) certainly conveyed to me that we don't have to worry about any such eventual outcome.

"He had already spoken prior to my call to the attorney-general of Afghanistan about dealing with the situation," he told a news conference.

'I am not an infidel'

Mr Rahman converted 16 years ago as an aid worker helping refugees in Pakistan. His estranged family denounced him during a custody dispute over his two children.

His mental health was questioned by the judge earlier in the week and on Thursday prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said there were doubts about whether he was fit to stand trial under Sharia law.

But Mr Rahman told the court: "They want to sentence me to death and I accept it, but I am not a deserter and not an infidel. I am a Christian which means I believe in the Trinity."

Observers say executing a converted Christian would be a significant precedent as a conservative interpretation of Sharia law in Afghanistan.

Mr Rahman's is thought to be Afghanistan's first such trial, reflecting tensions between conservative clerics and reformists.

[almaty 19]

good to hear...

[I'm Gone 60]

He better go underground. I would change my name to Bin Laden, since no one seems to be able to find him. LOL

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

He should apply for refugee status in Canada or Europe. I bet he'll qualify.

[almaty 19]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

[I'm Gone 60]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

I would say he should be eligible to apply for Asylum to the U.S., since those people are in place because of us.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

I would say he should be eligible to apply for Asylum to the U.S., since those people are in place because of us.

ya but i dont want him to live in this country because I'm afraid he'll hog up a lot more news cycles than if he lived in Canada.

[almaty 19]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

come on..locate him in new jersey..he may show-up one day with a Watchtower in his hand and ready to share...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

come on..locate him in new jersey..he may show-up one day with a Watchtower in his hand and ready to share...

new jersey sucks. fukcing governor is raising sales tax. and of course no property tax relief planned.

[almaty 19]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

come on..locate him in new jersey..he may show-up one day with a Watchtower in his hand and ready to share...

new jersey sucks. fukcing governor is raising sales tax. and of course no property tax relief planned.

terrible sounds like it's getting more like mass. and ny ....i thought it was a good place tax wise to live compared to conn...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

come on..locate him in new jersey..he may show-up one day with a Watchtower in his hand and ready to share...

new jersey sucks. fukcing governor is raising sales tax. and of course no property tax relief planned.

terrible sounds like it's getting more like mass. and ny ....i thought it was a good place tax wise to live compared to conn...

not for long. pretty soon i may have to move. my wife, for reasons that escape me, likes maryland. i've only taken her down there twice but she says she likes it.

[Mirorgate 0]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

come on..locate him in new jersey..he may show-up one day with a Watchtower in his hand and ready to share...

new jersey sucks. fukcing governor is raising sales tax. and of course no property tax relief planned.

terrible sounds like it's getting more like mass. and ny ....i thought it was a good place tax wise to live compared to conn...

New England gone way of the "tax the hell outa everyone" mentality... soon, even NH gonna cave.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

He better go underground. I would change my name to Bin Laden, since no one seems to be able to find him. LOL

Now. That's funny.

[almaty 19]

or maybe come here and have one of the concerned christian group sponsor him...

no please. send him to canada.

come on..locate him in new jersey..he may show-up one day with a Watchtower in his hand and ready to share...

new jersey sucks. fukcing governor is raising sales tax. and of course no property tax relief planned.

terrible sounds like it's getting more like mass. and ny ....i thought it was a good place tax wise to live compared to conn...

not for long. pretty soon i may have to move. my wife, for reasons that escape me, likes maryland. i've only taken her down there twice but she says she likes it.

#######!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! say it is not so my brother arijit..you too..i am moving myself already, sanita been here in the middle of october and wants to move,..next month we move..you too..but, i think she has a point..maryland has to be nicer than nj and the tax rate lower