22 January 2008

JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BLASPHEMY


A young journalist from Afghanistan has been sentenced to death for blasphemy, report Reporters Without Borders and local news sources.

Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh, a 23-year-old journalism student and reporter for the newspaper "Jahan-e Naw ("The New World"), was given the death sentence on 22 January in a trial held behind closed doors and without any lawyers defending him, RSF says.

Kambakhsh was arrested in October 2007 for distributing what officials say was anti-Islamic literature. He gave friends an article that said the Prophet Mohammed ignored women's rights. He was also accused of possessing anti-Islamic books and starting un-Islamic debates in class.

Kambakhsh's brother, prominent journalist Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, works for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and has recently come under attack for reports he had written criticising local officials and warlords. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), IWPR and Afghan sources say they fear that the charges against Kambakhsh were a pretext meant to stop his brother from reporting.

Join an international appeal and send a message demanding Kambakhsh's immediate release on KabulPress.org: http://tinyurl.com/2pnthj

For more info on the case, visit these links:
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25154
- CPJ: http://tinyurl.com/2vr8sj
(22 January 2008)



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Also from the Communiqué, 22 January 2008

INTERNATIONAL: SAFETY INSTITUTE LAUNCHES GLOBAL HOSTAGE CRISIS HELP CENTRE 22 January 2008 INTERNATIONAL: SAMIR KASSIR AWARD FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 22 January 2008 PAKISTAN: GEO TV BACK ON AIR 22 January 2008 TUNISIA: COURT UPHOLDS JOURNALIST'S ONE-YEAR JAIL SENTENCE 22 January 2008 AZERBAIJAN: APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS VERDICT IN FATULLAYEV CASE; ANOTHER JOURNALIST JAILED 22 January 2008 GREECE: IFEX MEMBER BECOMES TARGET OF HATE CAMPAIGN 22 January 2008 BELARUS: EDITOR JAILED OVER PROPHET MOHAMMED CARTOONS 22 January 2008 TURKEY: DINK'S ANNIVERSARY A REMINDER THAT COUNTRY MUST REFORM PENAL CODE, SAY IFEX MEMBERS 22 January 2008 NEPAL: INTERNATIONAL MISSION CONCERNED ABOUT JOURNALISTS' SAFETY 22 January 2008

Afghanistan

Iranian journalist dies of injuries sustained in Kabul attack 23 September 2011 IFJ mourns BBC journalist killed by NATO forces 13 September 2011 BBC reporter killed during Taliban attack in Uruzgan province 28 July 2011 French journalists, interpreter released after being held hostage for 18 months 30 June 2011 Religious threat to media intensifies 10 June 2011 See all alerts: Afghanistan


Asia and Pacific

TIBET (CHINA): PEN American Center concerned over "virtual lockdown" on freedom of expression 9 February 2012 MALDIVES: New government must guarantee safety and rights of journalists 8 February 2012 SRI LANKA: FMM voices concern over allegations in "Dinamina" newspaper article 7 February 2012 INDIA: Danish journalists refused visas 7 February 2012 CHINA: Senior newspaper staff fired for reporting inflation concerns 6 February 2012


 
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