Yesterday, theIndependent published an article on Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, a journalism student who has been sentenced to death in Afghanistan with the full knowledge and acceptance of Hamid Karzai's government. This is his capital crime:
He was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.
Mr Kambaksh, 23, distributed the tract to fellow students and teachers at Balkh University with the aim, he said, of provoking a debate on the matter. But a complaint was made against him and he was arrested, tried by religious judges without – say his friends and family – being allowed legal representation and sentenced to death.
The Independent has front paged the story again today and has instigated a petition to the Foreign Office. While their action is to be applauded, it seems to me that we in the US should be doing our part to help this student journalist out as well, since our government put Karzai in office to start with. Certain members of the administration and media are quick to say that women's rights, free speech, and education have improved since Taliban days. This story proves that they are dead wrong.
Meteor Blades covered this on the Open Thread for Night Owls last Thursday, and cited a CNN article, so it is receiving some attention here, but it is an issue that shouldn't drop from our radars in the heat of the campaign. I think we should also contact the State Department, just to let them know that we are aware of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh's plight. On the e-mail form, I would choose "foreign affairs" and then put a relatively graphic subject header like "journalist capital trial" or something similar. On the left hand side of the State Department contact page there is a link to a PDF with US contact numbers for the country (desk) offices. You might try phoning the Afghanistan desk to see what they say and post back any reactions. Any other suggestions as to direct action would be welcome as well.