Afghan convert freed after outcry
published: Wednesday | March 29, 2006

KABUL (REUTERS):

An Afghan threatened with execution for abandoning Islam for Christianity has been freed, Kabul said yesterday, after pressure from the Western states whose troops helped bring the Afghan government to power.

Abdur Rahman, 40, was jailed this month for rejecting his faith.

Judicial officials said he could have faced trial under Islamic sharia law stipulating death as punishment for apostasy.

"I can confirm that he was released," said Justice Minister Sarwar Danish. "He is not in detention. I do not know if he is with his family or where, but he has been acquitted."