PRESS FREEDOM: President Karzai tells not to worry about sentenced journalist
Few weeks earlier, SAJAForum reported about a young Afghani journalist, Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, who has been sentenced to death by a court for alleged blasphemy. As journalist organizations all over the world, including groups such as Reporters Without Borders and Committee to Protect Journalists, continue to condemn this decision, something hopeful might be finally on its way.
According to Reporters sans Frontiéres, Afghani president Hamid Karzai, during his meeting with a delegation from Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association, told them that they had no reason to worry about Kambakhsh.
From the RSF press release (Full text below):
Reporters Without Borders welcomes the undertakings given today by President Hamid Karzai as regards Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, the young journalist who has been sentenced to death on a trumped-up charge of distributing information that insulted Islam. Karzai told a delegation of Afghan journalists that they had no reason to worry about him.
"We want to believe that President Karzai really is determined to find a rapid solution to this appalling affair," the press freedom organisation said. "The death sentence passed on Kambakhsh by a court in Mazar-i-Sharif is unworthy of Afghanistan, whose constitution protects free expression. We call for the case to be quickly transferred to Kabul and for the conviction to be quashed."
Kambakhsh, 23, who is a journalism student at a local university, was sentenced for publishing, what the court called controversial articles on verses in the Koran about women. However, some have claimed that his sentence was an indication to warn his brother, Ibrahimi, who had been writing articles for the Institute on War and Peace Reporting criticizing some local authorities.
Do you think Karzai will free this young journalist? Please post your comments below.
Earlier on SAJAForum:
Full RSF Press Release:
6 February 2008
AFGHANISTAN
President Karzai tells delegation not to worry about journalist under sentence of deathReporters Without Borders welcomes the undertakings given today by President Hamid Karzai as regards Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, the young journalist who has been sentenced to death on a trumped-up charge of distributing information that insulted Islam. Karzai told a delegation of Afghan journalists that they had no reason to worry about him.
"We want to believe that President Karzai really is determined to find a rapid solution to this appalling affair," the press freedom organisation said. "The death sentence passed on Kambakhsh by a court in Mazar-i-Sharif is unworthy of Afghanistan, whose constitution protects free expression. We call for the case to be quickly transferred to Kabul and for the conviction to be quashed."
Reporters Without Borders added: "This new abuse of the blasphemy law should prompt the Afghan authorities to find a way to provide better protection for freedom of expression, one that will be effective even when subjects as sensitive as religion are involved."
The delegation from the Afghanistan Independent Journalists Association that met President Karzai today in Kabul briefed him about the case and asked him to intervene. Rahimullah Samandar, a member of the delegation, told Reporters Without Borders that Karzai gave them hope that Kambakhsh would be freed soon.
A presidential spokesman spoke yesterday of Karzai's concern about the case but said the courts should do their work.
The kabulpress.org blog has posted a recent photo of Kambakhsh in Mazar-i-Sharif prison, where his family was able to visit him on 2 February. He is reported to be in good health but worried about what will happen to him.Kambakhsh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, a journalist who is known for his articles about human rights abuses in the north of the country, is looking for a new lawyer in Kabul.
A court in Mazar-i-Sharif sentenced Kambakhsh to death on a charge of blasphemy on 22 January, at the end of a summary trial held behind closed doors. Reporters Without Borders has learned that the lawyer appointed by the family to defend him did not dare attend the trial for fear of reprisals.
A journalism student and reporter for the Jahan-e Naw ("New World") newspaper, Kambakhsh has been detained since 27 October.
Sign the petition : http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25199
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AFGHANISTAN
Le président Hamid Karzai se montre rassurant sur le sort du journaliste condamné à mort Sayed Perwiz KambakhshReporters sans frontières se félicite des promesses faites le 6 février 2008 par le chef de l'Etat afghan Hamid Karzaï concernant le journaliste condamné à mort, Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh. Il a demandé à une délégation de journalistes afghans de ne pas s'inquiéter pour le sort du jeune homme accusé d'avoir diffusé des informations qui insultent l'islam.
"Nous voulons croire à la bonne volonté du président Hamid Karzaï de trouver une issue rapide à cette affaire choquante. La condamnation à mort de Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh par un tribunal de Mazar-i-Charif est en effet indigne de l'Afghanistan alors que la Constitution protège la liberté d'expression. Nous demandons que le dossier soit transféré au plus vite à Kaboul et que les charges soient abandonnées", a affirmé l'organisation.
"Ce nouvel abus de la loi sur le blasphème doit inciter les autorités afghanes à un moyen de mieux protéger la liberté d'expression, même lorsqu'elle concerne des thèmes aussi sensibles que la religion", a ajouté l'organisation.
Le 6 février, une délégation de l'Association des journalistes indépendants en Afghanistan (AIJA) a rencontré Hamid Karzaï à Kaboul. Les journalistes lui ont donné des détails sur cette affaire et lui ont demandé d'intervenir. Selon Rahimullah Samandar, membre de cette délégation, interrogé par Reporters sans frontières, le chef de l'Etat a donné l'espoir d'une libération prochaine de Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh.
Déjà, le 5 février, un porte-parole d'Hamid Karzaï avait évoqué devant la presse l'inquiétude du chef de l'Etat dans cette affaire, tout en affirmant que les tribunaux devaient faire leur travail.
Le blog kabulpress.org a par ailleurs publié un cliché récent du jeune journaliste pris dans la prison de Mazar-e-Charif où sa famille a pu lui rendre visite le 2 février. Il est en bonne santé, mais inquiet pour son sort.Le 22 janvier, un tribunal de Mazar-e-Charif a condamné à mort le jeune journaliste Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, accusé de "blasphème". Son procès expéditif s'est tenu à huis clos. Reporters sans frontières a appris que l'avocat mandaté par la famille n'a pas osé se présenter au procès, de peur des représailles.
Son frère, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, journaliste connu pour ses enquêtes sur les abus des droits de l'homme dans le nord du pays, cherche un nouvel avocat à Kaboul.
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, étudiant en journalisme et reporter du Jahan-e Naw ("Le Monde nouveau"), est emprisonné depuis le 27 octobre 2007.Signez la pétition : http://www.rsf.org/article.php3 ?id_article=25192
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Vincent Brossel
Asia - Pacific Desk
Reporters Sans Frontières
47 rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
33 1 44 83 84 70
33 1 45 23 11 51 (fax)
asia@rsf.org
www.rsf.org
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