A TV frame grab, aired on March 22, shows Abdul Rahman looking at a translated version of the Bible at a Kabul court. He couldo be released today. - REUTERS
KABUL (AP):
AN AFGHAN man who faced a possible death sentence for converting from Islam to Christianity is to be freed after a court yesterday dismissed the case against him, citing a lack of evidence, officials said.
Islamic extremists, who have decried Abdul Rahman as an apostate and called for his execution, warned of protests against the decision.
The announcement came as U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai faced mounting foreign pressure, including from American President George W. Bush, to release Rahman, a move that risked angering Afghanistan's powerful Muslim clerics.
PROBE TO CONTINUE
An Afghan official closely involved with the case told The Associated Press that it had been returned to the prosecutors for further investigation, but that in the meantime, Rahman would be released.
"The court dismissed today the case against Abdul Rahman for a lack of information and a lot of legal gaps in the case," the official said on condition of anonymity as he was unauthorised to comment on the matter.
"The decision about his release will be taken possibly tomorrow (Monday)," he added. "They don't have to keep him in jail while the attorney-general is looking into the case."
A Western diplomat, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said it was not clear if the 41-year-old Rahman would stay in this conservative Muslim nation or go into exile abroad.
CAUGHT WITH BIBLE
Rahman was being prosecuted under Afghanistan's Islamic laws for converting 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
He was arrested last month after police discovered a Bible on him.
Supreme Court spokesman Abdul Wakil Omeri confirmed that the case had been dismissed because of "problems with the prosecutors' evidence."
Several of Rahman's relatives have testified that he is mentally unstable, Omeri said. "It is the job of the Attorney-General's office to decide if he is mentally fit to stand trial," he told AP.
