Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Afghanistan appeals court upholds prison sentence for Koran translators

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

ADVERTISEMENTS

[JURIST] An appeals court in Afghanistan on Sunday upheld a lower court's decision to sentence two men convicted of translating the Koran to 20 years in prison. The three-judge panel ruled that the men were guilty of modifying the Koran, but did not issue the maximum punishment of death. Muslim clerics viewed the free distribution of the translated Koran as blasphemous, and have been calling for the execution of Ahmad Ghaws Zalmai, a former spokesman for the attorney general, and Mushtaq Ahmad, a Muslim cleric who signed a letter endorsing the translation, since their arrest in 2007. The court based its decision on Islamic Shariah law, highlighting the lack of secular statutes for the court to consider, and providing another example of the influence clerics have in the Afghan legal system. Zalmai's attorney indicated that both men plan to appeal to the Supreme Court of Afghanistan. The Afghan justice system continues to be viewed as a target for the country's rebel leaders, putting pressure on judges to act in their favor. Last week, Taliban insurgents targeted the Afghan Ministry of Justice, the Prisons Directorate, and other government buildings in Kabul. In October, an Afghan appeals court sentenced a journalism student to 20 years for asking questions about women's rights under Islam. Muslim clerics considered the acts blasphemous, and conducted public demonstrates because the student violated the tenets of Islam. In September, Central Narcotics Tribunal Appeals Court Judge Alim Hanif was killed in Kabul. In early August, a judge in southern Helmand province and the chief judge of Khost province were shot and killed by unidentified gunmen said to be connected to the Taliban.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 16, 2009 (boomark / email).