Sayed Parwez Kambaksh (also Sayed Parwiz Kambakhsh or Sayed Parwez Kaambaksh or Sayed Pervez Kambaksh) was born 24 July 1984 in Afghanistan. In late 2007, he was a student at

Balkh University Balkh University ( fa, دانشگاه بلخ; ps, د بلخ پوهنتون) is a public university located in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh Province in northern Afghanistan. Established in 1986, the university has about 18,000 students and is ...

and a journalist for ''Jahan-e-Naw'' (''New World''), a daily. On 27 October 2007, police arrested Kambaksh, and accused him of "blasphemy and distribution of texts defamatory of Islam". The authorities claimed that Kambaksh distributed writing posted on the Internet by Arash Bikhoda (Arash the atheist). Bikoda's writing criticizes the treatment of women under Islamic Law. On 22 January 2008, the Primary Court in the northern city of

Mazar-e-Sharif , official_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , pushpin_map = Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_label = Mazar-i-Sharif , pushpin ...

sentenced Kambaksh to death for "blasphemy and distribution of texts defamatory of Islam". The court's chief judge said, "He insulted the prophet Mohammed. He called him a murderer and a womanizer." The court relied on Kambaksh's confession. Kambaksh denounced the confession as a product of torture. On 29 January 2008, the Upper House of Parliament issued a declaration supporting the death sentence but quickly retracted it because of a technical error. Kambaksh appealed the decision, and the case moved to a Court of Appeals in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. In October 2008, the court upheld the conviction but commuted the sentence to imprisonment for twenty years. Kambaksh appealed to the Supreme Court. On 11 or 12 February 2009, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeals. In late August 2009, President

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...

granted amnesty to Kambaksh. In 2015 it was revealed that Kambaksh had already fled Afghanistan before his amnesty with the help of high-ranking Norwegian and Swedish diplomats. Kambaksh was smuggled out of Afghanistan in secret on board the Swedish government's jet also carrying visiting Swedish foreign minister

Carl Bildt Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He was the leader of the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999. Bildt served as Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs ...

. This exceptional action had been undertaken according to Bildt in an interview with Expressen after Karzai had refused pleas of amnesty by Nordic diplomats on Kambaksh's behalf.

References

External links

* http://www.sampsoniaway.org/blog/2011/04/06/wipc-working-on-behalf-of-a-writer-until-he-or-she-is-released-from-prison/ * http://www.internationalpen.org.uk/index.cfm?objectid=998D64EB-3048-676E-262B33A0F9243DB6 * http://iwpr.net/report-news/saving-parwez-kambakhsh * http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/afghanistan/090316/death-then-life-downloading {{DEFAULTSORT:Kambaksh, Sayed Pervez Afghan human rights activists Afghan secularists Afghan democracy activists Afghan journalists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)

See also

References

External links