International community continues to support Afghan journalist on death row

The call for the acquittal and release of condemned journalist Sayed Pervez Kambaksh continues to echo around the globe, lead in part by a petition by The Independent that has garnered over 100,000 signatures, The Independent reported Tuesday.

Kambaksh was arrested for distributing a pamphlet containing a feminist critique of women’s rights in Islam. He was quickly tried and convicted for blasphemy in a case that his supporters deem illegitimate and flawed. Kambaksh is currently awaiting his appeal in Kabul’s notorious Pol-i Charki prison.

Kambaksh’s brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, has thanked the international community and those organizing the petition.

“If it wasn’t for the petition we would be alone,” Ibrahimi said. “There are a lot of pressures inside Afghanistan from the fundamentalists. They are trying to execute my brother. Fortunately, against them, there is pressure from the international community, and The Independent petition. I really believe it will help us.”

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To sign the petition for Sayed Pervez Kambaksh’s release, click here.