The reporter above (centre) noted that Muhammed's world view isn't very nice to women. For that he was originally given the death penalty. That sentence has been commuted to 20 years in jail. This is the government we fought to install? This is where women are left -- still defenceless?
Reporters Without Borders said, "Afghan justice has again failed to protect Afghan law and guarantee free expression." In a statement on its Web site, it continued: "The appeal proceedings were marred by ideological distortion, a glaring lack of evidence and incomprehensible delays." Kambakhsh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, said the sentence was issued under pressure from local militia and political leaders he had criticized in his articles, according to The Associated Press.
The court in Mazar-i-Sharif sentenced Kambakhsh to death in January, after a five-minute trial in which he was not allowed to offer any defense. The appeal was held in a Kabul court before a panel of three judges and involved several hearings over a number of months.
John Dempsey, an American lawyer observing the trial in Kabul, said Kambakhsh was not accorded fair treatment. "He was detained far longer that he should have been legally held," he said, according to The AP. "The defense lawyer was not even allowed to meet the witnesses until a night before the trial."
Perhaps he did say that the Prophet was an adulterer. Perhaps he thinks that Islam is unfair to women. The point is that no one may say such things, and women have to endure. How can justice ever emerge in such an environment?


Hi - I don't think he did say anything against the Prophet - he simply downloaded an article about Womens rights and Islam....the individual case is a locally politically motivated issue, the wider context of course is about basic freedoms. There's a petition for Pervez - you can get to it from here
http://blogs.news.sky.com/foreignmatters/Post:a326f11e-71d7-4940-ba12-171696740d29
Posted by: Tim Marshall. London | Wednesday, 22 October 2008 at 05:06 AM
I concur, Tim. He's just a local scapegoat -- but it's the principle. According to your standard, Rosa Parks wasn't the face of the oppressed minority, but simply an elderly lady who got really tired one day.
Posted by: gsk | Wednesday, 22 October 2008 at 07:43 AM
Have recently done a post on men..thanks for this.
Posted by: jackie parkes | Monday, 27 October 2008 at 01:48 AM