NewsLab

23-year-old Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, is a journalism student and reporter working for the Jahan I Naw newspaper in Afghanistan. He was arrested late October, with the accusation of blasphemy and sentenced to death by a provincial court in the northern province of Balkh, in a case that has sparked international outcry. His only crime was that he downloaded from the Internet and distributed among his fellow students at Balkh University articles that were said to question some of the tenets of Islam, including those related to the role of women. Today, around 200 Afghans demonstrated in Kabul asking for his immediate release. The UN, human rights groups, journalists’ organisations have asked Mr Karzai to intervene and free him. On Monday, Afghanistan’s senate issued a statement, approving the death sentence. Two days later, it backtracked, saying it respected the independence of justice and also the right of the accused to have a defence lawyer and to appeal. The death sentence must pass through various higher courts and be approved by Karzai. British newspaper Independent is launching a campaign for his release. Sign the petition.