Afghan who dared to read about human rights sentenced to death

This is from the Independent. This is the free and democratic Afghanistan that NATO and the US are fighting for. Earlier, a Christian convert from Islam had to flee to Italy to avoid a death sentence. A female legislator was kicked out the
legislature for criticizing her colleagues. The US house and Senate would be emptied in no time if that rule were followed in the US.

Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights


By Kim SenguptaThursday, 31 January 2008
A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the West's ally Hamid Karzai.
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.