Germany Gripped By Christian Convert Trial in Afghanistan

[Siegmund]

Germany Gripped By Christian Convert Trial in Afghanistan
Germany | 22.03.2006

It may be taking place thousands of miles away, but the trial of an Afghan convert to Christianity in Kabul and a possible looming death sentence have whipped up emotions in Germany and other Western nations.

An Afghan judge said on Sunday that 40-year-old Abdul Rahman had been jailed for converting from Islam to Christianity and could face the death penalty if he refused to become a Muslim again. Under Sharia law, renouncing the religion of Islam is a crime punishable by death, although Islam respects the right of Christians and Jews to practice their faith.

Rahman told a judge at a preliminary hearing last week he became a Christian while working for an aid group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan 15 years ago.

"I'm not an apostate. I'm obedient to God but I'm a Christian, that's my choice," Rahman told the hearing.

The case has sparked alarm in Germany, the US and Italy - all NATO countries with peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan. German politicians weighed into the debate this week which has increasingly drawn the battle lines between religious conservatives in Afghanistan and western diplomats pushing a reformist agenda.

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[Siegmund]

Karzai Assures Germany, Canada Over Afghan Convert's Safety
Germany | 24.03.2006

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has assured both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that a Christian convert from Islam would not face the death penalty.

According to the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has assured Canada that a man facing possible execution for converting to Christianity will not be put to death.

"I phoned President (Hamid) Karzai personally to express our concern. He conveyed to me that we don't have to worry about any such eventual outcome," Harper told reporters in Ottawa.

"He had already spoken prior to my call with the attorney general of Afghanistan about dealing with the situation ... (He) assured me that what's alarmed most of us will be worked out quickly ... in a way that fully respects religious rights, religious freedoms and human rights."

Abdul Rahman, 41, was arrested just over two weeks ago, when his parents informed the police about his conversion in what Harper described as "a family quarrel."

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[Siegmund]

Afghan Christian Convert Released
Europe | 28.03.2006

Following an international outcry, an Afghan man facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity has been freed, the Afghan justice minister said on Tuesday, citing doubts over his mental capacity to stand trial.

Abdur Rahman, 40, was jailed this month for abandoning Islam and converting to Christianity. Under Islamic sharia law, he could have faced death as punishment unless he reverted to Islam.

According to Afghan Justice Minister Sarwar Danish, the authorities were obliged to order Rahman's release because there were problems with the case presented against him in court and because of doubts over his mental capacity to stand trial.

"Last night he was released from custody," Justice Minister Sarwar Danish told AFP.

The time the courts had to start the trial against him had also lapsed and there had been no effort to extend it, he said.

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