Afghan official says journalist may not be executed

by Staff, Brand Republic 06-Feb-08, 11:25

LONDON - It is being reported this morning that the condemned student journalist Sayad Parwez Kambaksh will not face execution, according to a senior government official in Afghanistan.

A report in The Independent says that ministerial aide Najib Manalai insisted: "I am not worried for his life. I'm sure Afghanistan's justice system will find the best way to avoid this sentence."

The news follows an international campaign to free Kambaksh after he was found guilty under Sharia law of insulting Islam after he distributed articles from the internet on women's rights at Balkh University in northern Afghanistan.

The campaign to save Kambaksh has now attracted more than 67,000 signatures online at the Independent and more than 800 people have joined the Defend Sayad Parwez Kambaksh Facebook group.

Earlier this week Louise Arbour, the UN high commissioner for human rights, wrote to senior Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai, concerning the fate of Kambaksh.

David Miliband, the foreign secretary, and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had already applied diplomatic pressure over the case.

The campaign was also supported by the International Federation of Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.

A demonstration has also been organised to demand Kambakhsh's freedom in London on Friday. The details are as follows:

Friday, February 8, 2008, 12.00 to 2.00 pm
Afghanistan Embassy, 31 Princes Gate, London, SW7