AFG 001 / 0208 / OBS 023
Death sentence
Afghanistan
February 20, 2008
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Afghanistan.
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the sentence to death of Mr. Pervez Kambaksh, a 23 year-old reporter for the newspaper Jahan-e Naw (“The New World”) and journalism student at Balkh University, after he distributed a document criticising the Koran and its views on women’s rights to his journalism class.
According to the information received, on October 27, 2007, Mr. Kambaksh was arrested for reportedly downloading and distributing among fellow students a controversial article commenting on Koranic verses about women’s rights. He was subsequently detained in Mazar-i-Sharif, awaiting trial.
On January 22, 2008, Mr. Kambaksh was sentenced to death for blasphemy by a court of Mazar-i-Sharif. The trial was held behind closed doors, without any lawyer defending him. Mr. Kambaksh appealed the ruling but will remain in custody in the course of the proceedings. If the verdict is upheld by Afghanistan’s both Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, a decision of the Afghan President to pardon him will be the only way for him to escape capital punishment.
The Observatory was further informed that on January 30, 2008, the President of the Afghan Senate issued a statement supporting the sentence to death, which was challenged by another statement of a group of Afghan senators.
The Observatory expresses its deepest concern regarding Mr. Kambaksh’s sentencing to death, as it appears to be directly aimed at sanctioning his activities in favour of human rights, and therefore directly violates the Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 15, 2007 and which applies to all UN member-States[1]. The Observatory also considers that the deprivation of Mr. Kambaksh’s liberty results from the exercise of the rights or freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and is therefore arbitrary.
The Observatory further denounces his detention conditions, as he would reportedly share a cell meant for four detainees with thirty other prison inmates in a prison of Balkh province.
Please write to the Afghan authorities and ask them to:
As it might be very difficult to send letters and emails to Afghanistan, kindly send your reactions to the following diplomatic representations of Afghanistan, as well as to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Afghanistan in your respective countries.
Paris - Geneva, February 20, 2008
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
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