Release of Pervez Kambaksh brings relief for some, blood-lust from others

The pardoning and release of Pervez Kambaksh, the young Afghan journalism student, who was jailed in Afghanistan for “blasphemy”, has sparked sighs of relief from his family and howls of outrage from Islamist fanatics. Pervez was jailed in 2007 after asking questions in his class about the rights of women under Islam.

For this, he was originally sentenced to death, but this was reduced to 20 years imprisonment after an international outcry. Now it has emerged that he was pardoned several weeks ago by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and has fled the country. [National Secular Society] Read more