Afghanistan: Supreme Court confirms unjust sentence against holder of scholarship of the Hamburg Foundation for the Politically Persecuted

The Supreme Court of Afghanistan has surprisingly confirmed the unjust sentence against the students of journalism and holder of a scholarship of the Hamburg Foundation for the Politically Persecuted, Sayed Parvez Kaambakhsh, to 20 years imprisonment. The brother of the accused has now according to reliable sources been informed of the sentence, which was made in the absence of the accused and his lawyer, stated the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) on Monday in Göttingen. The human rights organisation has written an urgent letter* to the Defence Minister, Franz-Josef Jung, to take action for the immediate release of the 24-year old. Jung is expected in Afghanistan on Tuesday.

"The Parvez case is a measure of the achievement of the rule of law and democracy in Afghanistan, for which Germany is also making a contribution”, says the letter of the GfbV to Jung. "Please bring the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, to set a sign against the claim to power of the so-called traditionalist leadership caste and the Islamists. Karzai has often given promises that he would make sure that the Parvez case is handled fairly. He must now pardon him.” Since Karzai believes that he must take account of his partners in the Northern Alliance in the forthcoming elections in August 2009, it is only international pressure which will move him, said the GfbV Afghanistan expert, Tillman Schmalzried.

Parvez was arrested on 27th October 2007 on the charge of "blasphemy”, he was tortured and sentenced to death on 23rd January 2008. After international protests the sentence was commuted to 20 years imprisonment. In the unjust trial witnesses for the defence were not admitted, the penalty was administered arbitrarily, none of the dates provided in accordance with court procedure were respected, and the court of appeal and the supreme court did not take into consideration the retraction of the statements of the only so-called witness, which were obtained by torture.

The sentencing of Parvez has evidently the purpose of silencing his brother, the critical journalist Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi. In spite of threats against his life the latter has always published reports on crimes against humanity and the trade in arms and drugs of the Afghan warlords.

The two brothers have been guests of the Hamburg Foundation for the Politically Persecuted. France and Spain have offered Parvez political asylum if he is released from prison.