aderite alla petizione in favete di Pervez: e' semplicissimo

[Comitato Paul Rougeau - RM <prougeau at tiscali.it>]

Cari amici,
	           vi inoltro l'informazione fornita dall'autorevole
quotidiano inglese non allineato The Independent riguardo al caso di Sayed
Pervez Kambaksh, un giovane studente di giornalismo condannato a morte nel
nuovo Afghanistan 'democratico' (di cui l'Italia si professa fedele
'alleato'). Accusato di blasfemia, Parvez e' stato sottoposto ad un
ingiusto processo.

Vi invito a partecipare alla petizione on line lanciata da The Independent
cliccando sul link:

<http://www.independent.co.uk/petition> www.independent.co.uk/petition

E' semplicissimo!

Nella prima riga scrivi: il tuo Nome e Cognome, per es. Mario Rossi
Nella seconda riga: il tuo indirizzo e-mail
Nella terza riga: Italy

Cordiali saluti
Grazia Guaschino

**********************





>Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights
>
>
>
>
>
>
>By Kim Sengupta
>Thursday, 31 January 2008
>
>A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic
>court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then
>upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times
>but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the
>West's ally Hamid Karzai.
>
>The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international
>protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in
>Afghanistan. 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 is launching a campaign today to secure justice for Mr
>Kambaksh. The UN, human rights groups, journalists' organisations and
>Western diplomats have urged Mr Karzai's government to intervene and free
>him. But the Afghan Senate passed a motion yesterday confirming the death
>sentence.
>
>The MP who proposed the ruling condemning Mr Kambaksh was Sibghatullah
>Mojaddedi, a key ally of Mr Karzai. The Senate also attacked the
>international community for putting pressure on the Afghan government and
>urged Mr Karzai not to be influenced by outside un-Islamic views.
>
>The case of Mr Kambaksh, who also worked a s reporter for the Jahan-i-Naw
>(New World) newspaper, is seen in Afghanistan as yet another chapter in
>the escalation in the confrontation between Afghanistan and the West.
>
>It comes in the wake of Mr Karzai accusing the British of actually
>worsening the situation in Helmand province by their actions and his
>subsequent blocking of the appointment of Lord Ashdown as the UN envoy and
>expelling a British and an Irish diplomat.
>
>Demonstrations, organised by clerics, against the alleged foreign
>interference have been held in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where
>Mr Kambaksh was arrested. Aminuddin Muzafari, the first secretary of the
>houses of parliament, said: "People should realise that as we are
>representatives of an Islamic country therefore we can never tolerate
>insults to reverences of Islamic religion."
>
>At a gathering in Takhar province, Maulavi Ghulam Rabbani Rahmani, the
>heads of the Ulema council, said: "We want the government and the courts
>to execute the court verdict on Kambaksh as soon as possible." In Parwan
>province, another senior cleric, Maulavi Muhammad Asif, said: "This
>decision is for disrespecting the holy Koran and the government should
>enforce the decision before it came under more pressure from foreigners."
>
>UK officials say they are particularly concerned about such draconian
>action being taken against a journalist. The Foreign Office and Department
>for International Development has donated large sums to the training of
>media workers in the country. The Government funds the Institute for War
>and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in the Helmand capital, Lashkar Gar.
>
>Mr Kambaksh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, is also a journalist and has
>written articles for IWPR in which he accused senior public figures,
>including an MP, of atrocities, including murders. He said: "Of course we
>are all very worried about my brother. What has happened to him is very
>unjust. He has not committed blasphemy and he was not even allowed to have
>a legal defence. and what took place was a secret trial."
>
>Qayoum Baabak, the editor of Jahan-i-Naw, said a senior prosecutor in
>Mazar-i-Sharif, Hafiz Khaliqyar, had warned journalists that they would be
>punished if they protested against the death sentence passed on Mr
>Kambaksh.
>
>Jean MacKenzie, country director for IWPR, said: "We feel very strongly
>that this is designed to put pressure on Pervez's brother, Yaqub, who has
>done some of the hardest-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some very
>powerful commanders."
>
>Rahimullah Samander, the president of the Afghan Independent Journalists'
>Association, said: "This is unfair, this is illegal. He just printed a
>copy of something and looked at it and read it. How can we believe in this
>'democracy' if we can't even read, we can't even study? We are asking Mr
>Karzai to quash the death sentence before it is too late."
>
>The circumstances surrounding the conviction of Mr Kambaksh are also being
>viewed as a further attempt to claw back the rights gained by women since
>the overthrow of the Taliban. The most prominent female MP, Malalai Joya,
>has been suspended after criticising her male colleagues.
>
>Under the Afghan constitution, say legal experts, Mr Kambaksh has the
>right to appeal to the country's supreme court. Some senior clerics
>maintain, however, that since he has been convicted under religious laws,
>the supreme court should not bring secular interpretations to the case.
>
>Mr Karzai has the right to intervene and pardon Mr Kambaksh. However, even
>if he is freed, it would be hard for the student to escape retribution in
>a country where fundamentalists and warlords are increasingly in the
>ascendancy.
>
>How you can save Pervez
>
>Sayed Pervez Kambaksh's imminent execution is an affront to civilised
>values. It is not, however, a foregone conclusion. If enough international
>pressure is brought to bear on President Karzai's government, his sentence
>may yet be overturned. Add your weight to the campaign by urging the
>Foreign Office to demand that his life be spared. Sign our e-petition at
><http://www.independent.co.uk/petition> www.independent.co.uk/petition