Afghan journalist sentenced to death

[Doctor Cynic]

Source: AP

KABUL — An Afghan court on Tuesday sentenced a 23-year-old journalism student to death for distributing a paper he printed off the Internet that three judges said violated the tenets of Islam, an official said.

The three-judge panel sentenced Sayad Parwez Kambaksh to death for distributing a paper that humiliated Islam, said Fazel Wahab, the chief judge in the northern province of Balkh, where the trial took place. Judge Wahab did not preside over the trial.

Mr. Kambaksh's family and the head of a journalists group denounced the verdict and said Mr. Kambaksh was not represented by a lawyer at trial. Members of a clerics council had been pushing for Mr. Kambaksh to be punished.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080122.wafghhack0122/BNStory/International/home

---

Remind me why we're bringing freedom and democracy to such a country again?

[acmavm]

1. Afganistan is, was, and always will be a barbaric uncivilized backwards

nation. That is how the warlords want it. And what the warlords want, the warlords get.

The thought that we were ever going to bring anything remotely related to the 21st century to that counrry was ludicrous.

[DU9598]

3. Actually it wasn't always

In the 1960's it was actually a pretty liberal, safe, stable nation. Religous fanatics up-ended all of that in short order.

[Doctor Cynic]

5. Afghanistan isn't supposed to exist.

It was just dreamed up to create a buffer between Russian-controlled central Asia and British-controlled India in the 19th century.



It will be very hard to fix this damage, and redrawing borders will be extremely bloody and will make the Soviet losses look like a school shooting.

[grantcart]

20. 40 years ago it was the most progressive islamic country

regardig equal rights for women. Lots of women in government etc

[saigon68]

23. But But "Freedom and Democracy" are on the March

Just ask the Bush Puppet mayor of Kabul his eminence Krackzai

[rodeodance]

2. oh my--there are no words for this.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

6. Especially when 'Mission Accomplished'

has supposedly been achieved in Afhghanistan as well as Iraq.

[DCKit]

4. The same road the American Taliban would lead us down...

given the chance.

Have we had enough of domestic spying, secret tribunals, sealed evidence, state secrets and a corporate owned gubmint yet?

[ohio2007]

7. " “He told them he didn't write this article,” said Mr. Brahimi. “It was written by an Iranian.”"

Judge Wahab said that Mr. Kambaksh told the court that he could defend himself and did not need a lawyer. But Mr. Kambaksh's brother said his brother should have had a lawyer.

Mr. Wahab said that only President Hamid Karzai can forgive Mr. Kambaksh because he had confessed to violating the tenets of Islam.

snip
...(He)had been sentenced to death under Article 130 of the Afghan constitution. That article says that if no law exists regarding an issue than a court's decision should be in accord with Hanafi jurisprudence.

Hanafi is an orthodox school of Sunni Muslim jurisprudence followed in southern and central Asia.

snip

so, where in the hell are these alleged tenets some Iranian put on the internet ?

it's that SHia/Sunni all in the family feud again

[seriousstan]

8. Islam, the religion the must be protected from insults. How weak must it be?

[ohio2007]

9. Malaysia seizes Christian books (this is weak)

Malaysia seizes Christian books

Malaysian authorities confiscated Christian children's books, claiming the illustrations of prophets such as Moses and Abraham violate Islamic Shariah law. The independent news agency Malaysakini reported the Internal Security Ministry confiscated the literature from bookstores in two cities and one small town in mid-December.

The Malaysian Embassy declined to comment on the news service's Jan. 11 report.

snip

Christians, Hindus and other religious groups in Malaysia say they are increasingly being targeted as the nation gradually cedes jurisdiction to Shariah courts.



The U.S. State Department estimates that about 60 percent of Malaysians are Muslim, with the In remainder being Christians, Buddhists, Hindus or belonging to other sects.


snip

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080122/FOREIGN/762353591/1001

Looks like the house of Saud influence is strong in the Maylasian madrassas.

Saudi Arabia they confiscate all non muslim trinkets at the airports or other ports of entry upon arrival. If such policies were done in the infidel west we would never hear the end of it.

such paranoid phux they are with their religious police enforcement policies




I'm sure it's all being taken out of context of course ;)

[HCE SuiGeneris]

10. Because we are so good at it?

:spank:

[JBoy]

11. This is grounds to kick the guy out of the religion,

not put him to death.

I can only shake my head at the absurdity.

[Igel]

21. There's no difference between the two punishments.

Apostasy entails the death sentence in the majority of "legal" opinions in all four fiqhs.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Americans died to put an Islamic government in power in Iraq, and...

they have died to keep an Islamic government in power in Afghanistan.

Karzai is a joke, confined to Kabul.

[Eugene]

13. Updated AP story: Afghan Journalist Sentenced to Death

Source: Associated Press

Afghan Journalist Sentenced to Death

Wednesday January 23, 2008 2:01 PM

By JASON STRAZIUSO and AMIR SHAH

Associated Press Writers

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An Afghan journalist
sentenced to death for distributing an article
that allegedly violated Islam is actually being
punished for reporting by his brother about
abuses by northern warlords, a media group
said Wednesday.

-snip-

Jean MacKenzie, country director for the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, which
helps train Afghan journalists, said Kaambakhsh
is being punished for stories written for IWPR
by his brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi.

“We feel very strongly that this is a complete
fabrication on the part of the authorities up in
Mazar, designed to put pressure on Parwez'
brother Yaqub, who has done some of the
hardest-hitting pieces outlining abuses by
some very powerful commanders in Balkh and
the other northern provinces,” MacKenzie said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7249037,00.html

[jayfish]

14. Afghan Journalist Sentenced to Death

Source: Excite News

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An Afghan journalist sentenced to death for distributing an article that allegedly violated Islam is actually being punished for reporting by his brother about abuses by northern warlords, a media group said Wednesday.

Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh, 23, was sentenced to death Tuesday by a three-judge panel in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif for distributing a report he printed off the Internet to fellow journalism students at Balkh University.

The judges said the article humiliated Islam, and members of a clerics council had pushed for Kaambakhsh to be punished.

The case now goes to the first of two appeals courts.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080123/D8UBKEN02.html

---

Hooray for freedom and democracy.

[zanne]

15. Holy crap.

I'm glad we fought for democracy there.

[Tyler Durden]

16. I'm so PROUD we're FREE!!

Hey Honey, is "American Gladiators" on yet????

[sakabatou]

17. Now THAT'S "democracy."

Heh, heh, heh.

:puke:

[mac2]

18. Five years of war has brought them to this point

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. But they aren't Taliban, so that's OK. nt

[Igel]

22. We didn't bring juridical freedom and democracy to the country.

When the government was overthrown, there was the decision to leave the courts in place.

Most people thought it was a good decision. I thought it was a horrible decision. But "stability" was more important, it seems--and this is what "stabilty" has produced. No guarantee that "instability" would have resulted in anything better, of course.

The judges appointed in the '90s often continue to be the judges hearing cases in 2008; the supreme court wasn't revamped, although I believe some people were added to it. But if you empanel 3 of the members of the court, it's probably good odds that you won't get one of the more recent hirees (assuming, of course, that the more recent hirees are less Islamist in nature).