The death sentence imposed on Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh has been quashed by an Afghan appeals court. He should now be freed immediately as there have never been any legal grounds for his conviction or sentence.

Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh was arrested on 27 October 2007 for reportedly downloading information from the internet that examined the role of women in Islam, adding some commentary and distributing it at Balkh University. He has denied this, saying he was coerced into making a "confession".

On 22 January 2008 he was sentenced to death by a primary court in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif for "blasphemy" in what we believe was an unfair trial.

We urge President Karzai and Afghan authorities to free Perwiz Kambakhsh, who still faces 20 years imprisonment for a crime which, under Article 347 of the country's Penal Code, carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.

"There are no legal grounds for either his conviction or this sentence. While it can only be a positive step that he is no longer on death row, he should be freed immediately," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific Director.

We also call on President Karzai to immediately reintroduce a moratorium on all executions in Afghanistan, with a view to an eventual complete abolition of the death penalty.

Background

Between 70 and 110 people are believed to remain on death row in Afghanistan. This is despite the UN General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution on 18 December 2007 calling for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and the fact that a total of 135 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice.