Afghan president expresses concern for condemned reporter

The office of President Hamid Karzai has recently articulated its concern on the death sentence given to an Afghan journalist for allegedly insulting Islam, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Tuesday. Karzi spokesperson Homayun Hamidzada said that the president will not intervene in the case against the journalist until an appeals court makes a ruling, yet he said, “Of course the president is concerned. And we are watching the situation very closely.”

The journalist, Sayed Perwiz Kambaksh was charged with blasphemy after he took an opinion piece from the Internet and distributed it to students. The opinion piece drew condemnation from the local religious establishment because it questioned the interpretations of the Koran dealing with the treatment of women.

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