Islamic Law is Scary

Never forget how lucky you are (hopefully) to live somewhere with a seperation of church and state. Here is a recent story of a 20 year old student in Afghanistan who was convicted of Blasphemy without even being allowed to defend himself.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/student-facing-20-years-in-hell-1643069.html

Here are two select quotes that will give you the gist of the situation:

Mr Kambaksh was found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to death last year for circulating an essay on women’s rights which questioned verses in the Koran.

and….

Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, the student journalist sentenced to death for blasphemy in Afghanistan, has been told he will spend the next 20 years in jail after the country’s highest court ruled against him – without even hearing his defence.

…

It later emerged he was convicted by three mullahs, in secret, without access to a lawyer. The sentence was commuted to 20 years on appeal. At that appeal, in October, the key prosecution witness withdrew his testimony, claiming he had been forced to lie on pain of death. The prosecution then appealed to the Supreme Court to reinstate the death sentence. The defence appealed to quash his conviction altogether.

Meanwhile, the student has been languishing in a Kabul jail, fearing for his life. Islamic fundamentalists have been baying for his blood while moderate groups have led marches countrywide demanding his release.

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