Parwez Khambaksh Kabul appeal delayed again
Health seriously declining in prison, brother worries about his possible death
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The appeal scheduled today, Sunday, May 25, of Parwez Kambakhsh the Afghan student/journalist who was sentenced to death after being charged with reading an Internet article about women’s right in Islam has been delayed again to next Sunday.
It is reported by his brother, Afghan journalist, Yaqub Ibrahimi, that due his long jail confinement in an unsanitary and unhealthy cell, he has fallen seriously ill. He is also suffering from severe psychological trauma that contributes to his rapidly deteriorating physical condition. Ibrahami states that Parwez should be immediately hospitalized to address these issues, before they become irreversible.
Parwez has been imprisoned for nearly eight months following his arrest for blasphemy in October, 2007. The Afghan superior court in Kabul has repeatedly delayed his hearing, without taking efforts to address his life-threatening situation in the notoriously substandard Kabul Central Prison.
Detainees meeting in Kabul Central Prison
Ibrahimi has requested that “the international community who trust democracy and freedom of speech to continue to support us and their pressure on Afghan president Hamid Karzai to release him. Otherwise now we can say that he will be a victim of freedom of expression in Afghanistan. There is a lot pressure by fundamentalists on the Afghan judicial system to execute him one way or another. Without your support, we Afghan journalists are alone.”
Media members, human rights organizations, and concerned public officials across the world are encouraged to speak directly to Ibrahimi and can reach him by email at yaqub.ibrahimi gmail.com or his cell number : +93 798 008 807
For more background on this topic:
http://kabulpress.org/my/spip.php?article1682
