Afghan journalist jailed for ‘blasphemy’ … and a Jordanian poet is arrested for insulting the Koran

ALMOST a year after he was sentenced to death for the ludicrous “crime” of “blasphemy”, a young Afghan journalist has had his sentenced commuted to 20 years in jail.

According to the Irish Times, Afghanistan’s appeal court jailed Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, a reporter with the Jahan-e Now daily, for distributing an article that said the Prophet Mohammed had ignored the rights of women.

Perwiz Kambakhsh

He had downloaded the article from the Internet and distributed it to friends.

Said judge Abdul Salaam Qazizada:

The court has sentenced Perwiz Kambakhsh to 20 years jail for the crime he has committed. But this is not the final hearing, he has the right to appeal.

Under Islamic law – stipulated in Afghanistan’s constitution – blasphemy is punishable by death.

The arrest and sentencing of Mr Kambakhsh, also a university student, drew criticism from a number of Western nations, the Afghan media and rights groups.

We have just learned that Jordanian police today arrested a local writer for incorporating verses of the Koran, into his love poetryIslam Samhan, published his collection of poems, Grace like a Shadow, without the approval of the Jordanian government, and authorities say it insults the holy book.

Samhan has been charged with harming the Islamic faith and violating the press and publication law for combining the “sacred” words of the Koran with sexual themes.

If convicted, the poet could face up to three years in jail.

Jordanian law bans the publication of any books or articles that could be seen as harmful to Islam and its paedophile prophet.

More than two years ago, the court convicted the editors of two weekly newspapers of insulting Islam and sentenced them to two months in prison after they reprinted Danish newspaper caricatures of Mohammed.

Jordanian writers and artists urged the government in a collective petition to immediately release the poet, saying the arrest is a “retreat in the freedom of expression,” and called for an end to the “oppression of freedom and intimidation practiced against intellectuals.”