Case dismissed against Muslim who converted to Christianity

AN Afghan court yesterday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, because of a lack of evidence, and he will be released soon, officials said.

The announcement came as American-backed President Hamid Karzai faced mounting foreign pressure to free Abdul Rahman, a move that risked angering Muslim clerics who have called for him to be killed.

An official closely involved with the case said it had been returned to the prosecutors for more investigation, but that in the meantime, Mr Rahman would be released.

“The court dismissed today the case against Abdul Rahman for a lack of information and a lot of legal gaps in the case,” the official said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The decision about his release will be taken possibly tomorrow,” the official added. Abdul Wakil Omeri, a spokesman for the Supreme Court, confirmed that the case had been dismissed and said several of Mr Rahman’s family members have testified that the 41-year-old has mental problems.

“It is the job of the attorney general’s office to decide if he is mentally fit to stand trial,” he said.

A Western diplomat, also declining to be identified due to the case’s sensitivity said questions were being raised whether Mr Rahman would stay in Afghanistan or go into exile.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she could not confirm that an Afghan court had dismissed the case and stressed the US needs to respect the sovereignty of Afghanistan.

Asked if American Christian missionaries should be encouraged to go to Afghanistan, Ms Rice said: “I think that Afghans are pleased to get the help that they can get,” but added, “we need to be respectful of Afghan sovereignty.”

Mr Rahman has been prosecuted under Afghanistan’s Islamic laws for converting 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He was arrested last month and charged with apostasy.

Muslim clerics had threatened to incite Afghans to kill Mr Rahman if the government freed him. They said he clearly violated Islamic Shariah law by rejecting Islam. The case put Mr Karzai in an awkward position.

While the US, Britain and other countries that prop up his government demanded the trial be dropped, Mr Karzai has had to be careful not to offend Islamic sensibilities.

Mr Rahman, meanwhile, said he was fully aware of his choice and was ready to die for it, according to an interview yesterday in an Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

“I am serene. I have full awareness of what I have chosen. If I must die, I will die,” Mr Rahman said, responding to questions sent to him via a human rights worker who visited him in prison.

“Somebody, a long time ago, did it for all of us,” he added, in reference to Jesus. “In Peshawar I worked for a humanitarian organisation. They were Catholics.

“I started talking to them about religion, I read the Bible, it opened my heart and my mind.”