Afghan journalist sentenced to death - and we can help (please!)

Re: Afghan journalist sentenced to death

Good move stickying this.

 

Re: Afghan journalist sentenced to death

Again, here's the letter to fax or send. Simply cut, paste, add the date and your signature.

[Date]

His Excellency Hamid Karzai
President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan
c/o Said T. Jawad
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Afghanistan
Embassy of Afghanistan
2341 Wyoming Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008

Fax: 202.483.6488

Your Excellency,

I am writing to express my shock regarding the death sentence passed down to my colleague, journalist Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh.

I understand that on January 22, 2008, Mr. Kambakhsh, a journalism student at Balkh University and reporter for the local daily Jahan-e-Naw (The New World), was tried by an Islamic court in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, convicted of blasphemy, and sentenced to death. The trial was reportedly held behind closed doors, and he had no legal representation.

I am seriously concerned about the circumstances surrounding the charges and sentencing of Mr. Kambakhsh. I therefore urge you to intervene to secure his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Afghan law and Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.


Sincerely,

[Your name and signature]

* * *

Also, there are a number of petitions circulating for this young man's release.

From Reporters Without Borders (link to the petition is at the bottom of the article):

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=25323

And from the Independent (link to the petition is in the box to the right under 'Related Articles'):

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/save-pervez-global-protests-to-save-afghan-student-from-death-sentence-776783.html

Thanks again to everyone for their help on this.

 

Has this hit CNN? Fox News? The networks?

 

B_R --

Thanks for your help. Like you, I despair of a world in which this is possible. And I harbor no false hopes about a handful of letters or faxes effecting change. Still, the act of witness is a phenomenally powerful thing, and - one small good deed at a time - I've seen again and again that even the most brutal governments will reverse themselves in individual cases once they know the world is watching.

I try to think of it like this: I can't save everyone from violence or ignorance or repression. But maybe I can save this one kid this one time.

wicked -

I haven't seen it on the US wires yet, but a couple of the organizations I work with are trying very hard to get it noticed.

 

Some fascinating background on the story, from the IWPR:

http://www.iwpr.net/?p=arr&s=f&o=342282&apc_state=henfarr342396#

 

Done via snail mail.

 

Thanks, Sleeper.

 

Printing off, in the mail tomorrow.

Unreal.

 

Thanks so much, Zeke, it all helps.

 

What a fucked up religion. You could download and pass around a diagram that shows how to make a nail bomb and be thought of as a hero in some circles. But write or say anything about that crack pot Mohamid and you could lose your life.

 

Here's a direct link to one petition.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/article775954.ece

Name, e-mail, country and hit send. Took about 15 seconds.

Printing off the letter and will fax, assuming I can make the machine work.
No need to thank me for doing the right thing.