Sayed Parwez Kambaksh (; other spelling variations being Parwiz, Parwez or Pervez Kambaksh) was born 24 July 1984 in Afghanistan. In late 2007, he was a student at

Balkh University Balkh University (; ) 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 the third-largest in Afghanistan after Kabul University ...

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 had distributed writings posted on the Internet by Arash Bikhoda (Arash the atheist). Bikoda's writings criticize the treatment of women under Islamic law. On 22 January 2008, the Primary Court in the northern city of

Mazar-e-Sharif Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highway ...

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 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. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. 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 (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...

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 the visiting Swedish foreign minister

Carl Bildt Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He led the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, appearing as its lead candidate in four general elections, b ...

. This exceptional action had been undertaken, according to Bildt in an interview with

Expressen (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue". The newspaper awards the cultu ...

, after Karzai had refused pleas for amnesty by

Nordic Nordic most commonly refers to: * Nordic countries, the northern European countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and their North Atlantic territories * Scandinavia, a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern ...

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 critics of religions Afghan democracy activists Afghan journalists Living people 1984 births

See also

References

External links