Afghanistan: Hundreds rally against decision to free Christian

Hundreds of people protested in a northern Afghan city today against a decision to free a man who faced a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity.

About 700 Muslim clerics and others gathered in central Mazar-e-Sharif, chanting “Death to Bush” and other anti-Western slogans, a day after a court announced it had dropped its case against Abdul Rahman, said police commander Nasruddin Hamdrad.

Security forces surrounded the demonstrators, but did not intervene.