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Afghan journalist jailed for blasphemy goes free
An Afghan journalist, sentenced to death for blasphemy, reduced to 20 years' jail on appeal, has been set free and is living in exile in an undisclosed country, a media watchdog said Monday.
Perwiz Kambakhsh, 24, a reporter with the Afghan Jahan-e Now daily, was sentenced to death in January 2008 by a court in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Kambakhsh was arrested and imprisoned for downloading and distributing an Iranian article from the Internet that said the Prophet Mohammad had ignored the rights of women.
Under Islamic law -- stipulated in Afghanistan's constitution -- blasphemy is punishable by death.
"It is with considerable emotion that we welcome the release of Perwiz Kambakhsh," Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RWB), which campaigns for press freedom, said on Monday.