Blasphemy accused sentenced to death in Afghanistan
23 January, 2008
MAZAR-I-SHARIF: A court in Afghanistan has sentenced a local journalist to death for blasphemy, an official and family members said Wednesday.
Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, was arrested on October 27 for allegedly distributing material he downloaded from the Internet and deemed offensive to Islam among fellow students at northern Balkh University.
"Based on the crimes Perwiz Kambakhsh committed, the primary court yesterday sentenced him to the most serious punishment which is the death penalty," Balkh province deputy attorney general Hafizullah Khaliqyar told foreign news agency.
Khaliqyar had threatened Monday to arrest journalists who "support" Kambakhsh at a media briefing where officials defended the arrest of the reporter.
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