There have been two controversial convictions in Afghanistan based solely on "transgression(s) of Islam." Thus, the credibility of the Afghan judiciary is being called into serious question. Most find the decisions to be flawed and are calling for the decisions to convict be overturned.
On September 10, 2008, a guilty verdict was issued by a Kabul court in the case of Ghaus Zalmai. Zalmai is a prominent journalist who was taking part in a project to produce a vernacular translation of the Koran. The charges were not completely clear, and Zalmai was sentenced to 20 years in an Afghan prison.
Mullah Qari Mushtaq Ahmad of the Kabul Tamim-e-Ansar Mosque approved Zalmai's translation and was also arrested. Ahmad was also sentenced to 20 years in prison, since he was a religious scholar and gave his authority for the translation.
The verdict is not final, as both Ahmad and Zalmai will be appealing their convictions, despite the Afghan judiciary insisting both cases were sound and valid.
13 October 2008
