[Marxism] Afghan student faces death sentence for downloading woman's rights article

[Louis Proyect]

Independent.co.uk
Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights

By Kim Sengupta
Thursday, 31 January 2008

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.

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.

The case of Mr Kambaksh, who also worked a s reporter for the 
Jahan-i-Naw (New World) newspaper, is seen in Afghanistan as yet another 
chapter in the escalation in the confrontation between Afghanistan and 
the West.

It comes in the wake of Mr Karzai accusing the British of actually 
worsening the situation in Helmand province by their actions and his 
subsequent blocking of the appointment of Lord Ashdown as the UN envoy 
and expelling a British and an Irish diplomat.

Demonstrations, organised by clerics, against the alleged foreign 
interference have been held in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, 
where Mr Kambaksh was arrested. Aminuddin Muzafari, the first secretary 
of the houses of parliament, said: "People should realise that as we are 
representatives of an Islamic country therefore we can never tolerate 
insults to reverences of Islamic religion."

At a gathering in Takhar province, Maulavi Ghulam Rabbani Rahmani, the 
heads of the Ulema council, said: "We want the government and the courts 
to execute the court verdict on Kambaksh as soon as possible." In Parwan 
province, another senior cleric, Maulavi Muhammad Asif, said: "This 
decision is for disrespecting the holy Koran and the government should 
enforce the decision before it came under more pressure from foreigners."

UK officials say they are particularly concerned about such draconian 
action being taken against a journalist. The Foreign Office and 
Department for International Development has donated large sums to the 
training of media workers in the country. The Government funds the 
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in the Helmand capital, 
Lashkar Gar.

Mr Kambaksh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, is also a journalist and 
has written articles for IWPR in which he accused senior public figures, 
including an MP, of atrocities, including murders. He said: "Of course 
we are all very worried about my brother. What has happened to him is 
very unjust. He has not committed blasphemy and he was not even allowed 
to have a legal defence. and what took place was a secret trial."

Qayoum Baabak, the editor of Jahan-i-Naw, said a senior prosecutor in 
Mazar-i-Sharif, Hafiz Khaliqyar, had warned journalists that they would 
be punished if they protested against the death sentence passed on Mr 
Kambaksh.

Jean MacKenzie, country director for IWPR, said: "We feel very strongly 
that this is designed to put pressure on Pervez's brother, Yaqub, who 
has done some of the hardest-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some 
very powerful commanders."

Rahimullah Samander, the president of the Afghan Independent 
Journalists' Association, said: "This is unfair, this is illegal. He 
just printed a copy of something and looked at it and read it. How can 
we believe in this 'democracy' if we can't even read, we can't even 
study? We are asking Mr Karzai to quash the death sentence before it is 
too late."

The circumstances surrounding the conviction of Mr Kambaksh are also 
being viewed as a further attempt to claw back the rights gained by 
women since the overthrow of the Taliban. The most prominent female MP, 
Malalai Joya, has been suspended after criticising her male colleagues.

Under the Afghan constitution, say legal experts, Mr Kambaksh has the 
right to appeal to the country's supreme court. Some senior clerics 
maintain, however, that since he has been convicted under religious 
laws, the supreme court should not bring secular interpretations to the 
case.

Mr Karzai has the right to intervene and pardon Mr Kambaksh. However, 
even if he is freed, it would be hard for the student to escape 
retribution in a country where fundamentalists and warlords are 
increasingly in the ascendancy.

How you can save Pervez

Sayed Pervez Kambaksh's imminent execution is an affront to civilised 
values. It is not, however, a foregone conclusion. If enough 
international pressure is brought to bear on President Karzai's 
government, his sentence may yet be overturned. 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