[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
September 2008

Further Information on UA 39/08 (12 February 2008) - Death penalty

AFGHANISTAN                Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh (m), student and
journalist

Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh is now known to have been convicted of an offense
which carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment, but is
still facing the death penalty. He has not been receiving a fair and
impartial hearing for his appeal, which began on 18 May. His appeal has
since come to a standstill at the Court of Appeal in Kabul.

Perwiz Kambakhsh was arrested on 27 October 2007, and on 22 January was
sentenced to death by a primary court in the northern city of
Mazar-e-Sharif for "blasphemy." He was convicted of downloading material
from the Internet that examined the role of women in Islam, adding some
commentary and distributing it at Balkh University. He denies all this,
saying that he had been coerced into making a "confession." There are no
legal grounds for either his conviction or his sentence. He was convicted
under Article 347 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of
five years' imprisonment, not the death penalty, for a person who
disturbs or stops the conduct of religious ritual or damages religious
places of worship.

According to a report by a charity providing training and capacity
building for local media, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR),
during the last appeal hearing, on 15 June, the presiding judge "took on
the role of prosecutor rather than impartial judge, engaging in a legal
duel with defense attorney Mohammad Afzal Nooristan...time and again the
judge attacked Kambakhsh, who sat pale but composed in the defendant's
chair." The hearing was adjourned indefinitely, to allow time for the
court to summon witnesses from Mazar-e-Sharif. The Court of Appeal has
sent four summonses to the court in Mazar-e-Sharif which convicted Sayed
Perwiz Kambakhsh, for that court to deliver to witnesses, but it has not
done so.

In addition, under Article 6 of the Interim Criminal Procedure Code, an
appeal must last no more than two months, after which the appellant must
be released, whether or not the proceedings have reached a conclusion.
Kambaksh's appeal began on 18 May and he should therefore have been
released on 18 July.

This is the fourth time the appeal hearing has been adjourned. A hearing
on 1 June was suspended following a motion by Kambakhsh's defense counsel
to have him examined by a doctor, who would investigate injuries that
Kambakhsh said were caused by torture. Kambakhsh, according to the IWPR
report, claimed the security forces broke his nose and left hand while he
was in custody in late 2007. The court did order an examination, but this
did not determine when Kambaksh had sustained his injuries. Kambakhsh
also claimed that he had confessed to distributing the "blasphemous"
material only because he was coerced.

President Hamid Karzai has said that "justice will be done" in the case.

The proceedings against Perwiz Kambakhsh appear to be politically
motivated, intended to stop his brother, journalist Yaqub Ibrahimi, from
publishing articles critical of local warlords. Perwiz Kambakhsh's arrest
came after his brother published a series of articles voicing concerns
about local leaders. Since his case has come to international and
domestic attention, it has stoked up conservative religious sentiment
against Kambakhsh in Afghanistan, and many religious leaders have been
calling for him to be executed.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Between 70 and 110 people are believed to remain on death row in
Afghanistan. This is despite the UN General Assembly's adoption of a
resolution on 18 December 2007, calling for a worldwide moratorium on the
use of the death penalty and at a time when a total of 135 countries have
abolished the death penalty in law or practice.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases. It has not
been shown to have any greater deterrent effect than other punishments,
and is known to have been carried out on the innocent. The death penalty
is the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and a
violation of the right to life, a right proclaimed in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights
instruments.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- expressing concern that the proceedings in Perwiz Kambakhsh's appeal
against his conviction which was itself the result of an unfair trial,
have not been impartial;
- expressing concern that Perwiz Kambakhsh's appeal proceedings have so
far lasted four months, and by law he should have been released when
proceedings did not conclude after two months;
- expressing concern that Kambakhsh has been sentenced to death even
though he was convicted under Article 347 of the Penal Code, which does
not carry the death penalty;
- expressing concern that the proceedings against him appear to be
politically motivated and that conservative religious elements are
attempting to ensure that the death penalty is upheld;
- calling on President Karzai to use his constitutional powers to ensure
that Kambakhsh is not put to death;
- calling on President Karzai to immediately reintroduce a moratorium on
all executions in Afghanistan, as called for in the UN General Assembly
resolution passed on 18 December 2007, with a view to an eventual
complete abolition of the death penalty.

APPEALS TO:

It is difficult to get letters and emails to Afghanistan. Please send
appeals to diplomatic representatives of Afghanistan accredited to your
country. Ask that they be forwarded to President Hamid Karzai, Attorney
General Mohammad Ishaq Alako and Minister of Justice Sarwar Danish.

Ambassador Said Tayeb Jawad
Embassy of Afghanistan
2341 Wyoming Avenue NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 202 483 6488
Email: info at embassyofafghanistan.org

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 4
November 2008.

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This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact
information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help
with this appeal.

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Email: uan at aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566

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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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