Afghan Faces Death Penalty for Converting to Christianity: Judge Says He Could Escape Punishment If He's Ruled Insane

Now that's the type of headline that makes my morning! Er, until I realize we "democratized" that country four years ago and they are still executing people for apostasy.

Found via Americablog, Here's some of the article:

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 20, 2006 - Despite the overthrow of the fundamentalist Taliban government and the presence of 22,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a man who converted to Christianity is being prosecuted in Kabul, and a judge said Sunday that if convicted, he faces the death penalty.

Abdul Rahman, who is in his 40s, says he converted to Christianity 16 years ago while working as an aid worker helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Relatives denounced him as a convert during a custody battle over his children, and he was arrested last month. The prosecutor says Rahman was found with a Bible.

Since our installment of Hamid Karzai as President after the overthrow of the Taliban, he is often jokingly referred to as the "Mayor of Kabul" since most of the country is still run by insane warlords. But this isn't happening in some remote village; It's happening in Kabul. Can someone explain? I mean, considering how Karzai is essentially this Administration's bitch, you'd think they would pressure him into making sure stuff like this didn't happen. Unless Afghanistan is way more fucked than anyone wants to acknowledge.

Presiding judge Ansarullah Mawlazezadah tells ABC News a medical team was checking the defendant, since the team suspects insanity caused Rahman to reject Islam.

...

"We will ask him if he has changed his mind about being a Christian," Mawlazezadah says. "If he has, we will forgive him, because Islam is a religion of tolerance."

mmmm.