Afghan Sentenced to Death for Reading about Women’s Rights
Photo of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh courtesy of The Independent
THE INDEPENDENT: A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the West's ally Hamid Karzai.

The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in Afghanistan. He was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.

Mr Kambaksh, 23, distributed the tract to fellow students and teachers at Balkh University with the aim, he said, of provoking a debate on the matter. But a complaint was made against him and he was arrested, tried by religious judges without – say his friends and family – being allowed legal representation and sentenced to death. Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights >>> By Kim Sengupta

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Sign Petition Online
The Independent is running an online petition to save the young Afghan, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, who has been sentenced to death in Afghanistan simply for downloading material on women’s rights!

We really need to do all we can to save this young man. He deserves OUR help. The least we can do is sign the online petition. Please take a minute of your time to sign this most urgent petition:

Save Sayed Pervez Kambaksh

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Save Pervez! Global Protests to Save Afghan Student from Death Sentence
THE INDEPENDENT: Worldwide outrage over Afghan sentenced to death for reading article on women's rights. Join the Independent campaign now

Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, has been inundated with appeals to save the life of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, the student journalist sentenced to death after being accused of downloading an internet report on women's rights.

While international protests mounted over the affair, with the British Government saying it had already raised its concerns, hundreds of people marched through the capital, Kabul, demanding Mr Kambaksh's release.

A petition launched yesterday by The Independent to secure justice for Mr Kambaksh had attracted more than 13,500 signatories by last night, and a number of support groups have been set up on the social networking site Facebook with more than 400 joining one group alone.

Mr Kambaksh, 23, was arrested, tried and convicted by a religious court, in what his friends and family say was a secret session without being allowed legal representation.

The United Nations, human rights groups, journalists' organisations and diplomats urged Mr Karzai's government to quash the death sentence and release him.

Instead, on Wednesday, the Afghan senate passed a motion confirming the death sentence. The MP who proposed the ruling condemning Mr Kambaksh was Sibghatullah Mojadedi, a key ally of Mr Karzai. Save Pervez! Global protests to save Afghan student from death sentence >>> By Kim Sengupta, Jerome Starkey in Kabul, Anne Penketh and Ben Russell

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Afghanistan: Sayed Pervez Kambaksh
THE INDEPENDENT: The idea that any individual in any country should face execution for downloading information from the internet is as abhorrent as it is incomprehensible. That this should be happening in a nation whose government benefits from the military and financial support of Western countries, Britain included, should give us great pause for thought. Pervez Kabaksh [sic], 23, is a student at an Afghan university and a journalist. He was arrested last year after downloading material about the role of women in Islamic societies. We can well imagine that the material was not flattering to, or particularly consonant with, some of the precepts of Islam. Mr Kambaksh was charged, and last week convicted, of blasphemy. He had pleaded not guilty.

The United Nations criticised the conduct of the trial, in which Mr Kambaksh had no legal representation. There were hopes that the upper house of the Afghan legislature would at least commute the death sentence. In the event, however, the Senate leader signed his approval without calling a vote.

The Afghan government says the judgment is not final. This is why it is vital that anyone who values free speech should join the campaign to reverse this quite unwarranted sentence. When Hamid Karzai became President of Afghanistan, it was on a platform that included religious tolerance, in stark contrast to the rule of the routed Taliban.

It is surely worth asking what sort of a country Afghanistan is now becoming, if girls who go want to go to school risk being killed and young men are threatened with death for downloading information from the internet. [Source: Leading article: The price of free speech]

THE INDEPENDENT:
How he was sentenced to die

THE INDEPENDENT:
Save Pervez! Global protests to save Afghan student from death sentence: Worldwide outrage over Afghan sentenced to death for reading article on women's rights. Join the Independent campaign now

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)