Fox News just reported via the AP that the case against Abdul Rahman will be dropped for lack of evidence.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan court on Sunday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity because of a lack of evidence, and he will be released soon, an official said.
“The court dismissed today the case against Abdul Rahman for a lack of information and a lot of legal gaps in the case,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
He said the case has been returned to the prosecutors for more investigation, but that in the meantime Rahman would be released.
“The decision about his release will be taken possibly tomorrow,” he said.
The court, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, had been under intense international pressure to drop the case against Abdul Rahman, who faced a possible death sentence for his conversion.
Some Islamic clerics had called for him to be put to death, saying Rahman would face danger from his countrymen if he were released.
It really doesn’t matter because releasing the man from jail is a death sentence. It will just be done without the official stamp of the government.
I agree , He should be released to this country.
I wonder how many times this has happened and we haven’t heard about it? Saudi Arabia and other nations just learned a lesson: if you want to behead a Christian, keep quiet about it.
I fear your exactly right John !
But killing a Jew is still okay. Beheading a Jew and videotaping it??? Priceless.
Two things to keep in mind:
1. The case has been returned to the prosecutors for more investigations. This includes looking at whether he is really an Afghan citizen, since he lived in Pakistan and Germany for much of the last 16 years, and testing his psychological competence. The judge also says he should be given a chance to renounce his conversion to Christianity.
2. Rahman has said he doesn’t want to leave Afghanistan, and is prepared to die for his belief.
Perhaps the Afghan government is hoping that Rahman will take the opportunity of his release and seek safe harbor somewhere else; that would explain why it will take a day or two to release him even though the charges have been dropped. I’m not sure Mr. Rahman would understand this plan, and may take a little “persuading”. Possibly, if he is declared not an Afghan citizen, he could be deported even if he does not want to leave. Or he could be declared insane, since he hears “voices in his head” according to family members; then Islam would be required to protect him rather than execute him – a most generous provision in shari’a, no?
This is a (or another) case that will, I’m afraid, tragically show how ill-prepared Islamic society may be for modern civilization, and how many who think of themselves as “progressive” can’t be bothered by barbarity in the Islamic world if it can’t be blamed on Western sin. How people in “civilized” countries react to this man’s death will be as revealing as their reactions, or non-reactions, to his trial.
Clerics… supposed men of God… are advocating killing someone because he “might” face danger from his fellow countrymen? So, instead of extolling those aforementioned countrymen to, you know, not kill Rahman, they are instead continuing to prove just how fanatical the Islamic faith can be… That makes sense to me. Really, it does.
Imams, the new Pharises.