October, 21 2008, 02:31pm EDT
Amnesty International Calls on Afghanistan to Release Journalist Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh
No Legal Grounds Exist for Afghan Journalist's Conviction or Sentence, Urges Human Rights Group
WASHINGTON
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh should
be freed immediately as there have never been any legal grounds for his
conviction or sentence, Amnesty International said today in response to
the news that a death sentence on him has been quashed by an Afghan appeals
court.
He was arrested on October 27, 2007 for reportedly
downloading information from the internet that examined the role of women
in Islam, adding some commentary and distributing it at Balkh University.
He has denied this, saying that he had been coerced into making a "confession."
On January 22, 2008, he was sentenced to
death by a primary court in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif for "blasphemy"
in what Amnesty International believes was an unfair trial.
The organization urges President Karzai and
Afghan authorities to free Perwiz Kambakhsh, who still faces 20 years imprisonment
for a crime which, under Article 347 of the country's Penal Code, carries
a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.
"There are no legal grounds for either
his conviction or this sentence. While it can only be a positive step that
he is no longer on death row, he should be freed immediately," said
Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific director.
The organization also called on President
Karzai to immediately reintroduce a moratorium on all executions in Afghanistan,
with a view to an eventual complete abolition of the death penalty.
Background
Between 70 and 110 people are believed to
remain on death row in Afghanistan. This is despite the UN General Assembly's
adoption of a resolution on December 18, 2007, calling for a worldwide
moratorium on the use of the death penalty and at a time when a total of
135 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning
grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters,
activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human
rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates
and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice,
freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. Our supporters are outraged by human rights abuses but inspired by hope for a better world - so we work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity. We have more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions and we coordinate this support to act for justice on a wide range of issues.
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