The Independent has today launched a campaign to save the life of Afghan journalism student Sayed Pervez Kambaksh who has been sentenced to death.
The student’s alleged crime was distributing a tract from a Farsi website which suggested Islamic fundamentalists who advocated the oppression of women were misrepresenting the Koran.
Kambaksh worked as reporter for the Jahan-I-Naw (New World) newspaper. Jean MacKenzie, country director for IWPR, told the Independent : “We feel very strongly that this is designed to put pressure on Pervez’s brother, Yaqub, who has done some of the hardest-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some very powerful commanders.”
The Independent has urged its readers to sign an e-petition urging the Foreign Office to bring pressure to save Kambaksh’s life.
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In a leader today, the Independent says: “The Afghan Government says the judgment is not final. This is why it is vital that anyone who values free speech should join the campaign to reverse this quite unwarranted sentence.”
Click here to sign the petition: Independent petition
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