Abdul Rahman (; born 1965) is an Afghan man whose arrest and trial in February 2006 sparked widespread controversy among the international community. Abdul Rahman had been arrested by Afghan authorities for apostasy and subsequently threatened with the death penalty. He had converted to Christianity from Islam while providing medical assistance to Afghan refugees in Peshawar, Pakistan. On 26 March 2006, under heavy pressure from foreign governments, the Afghan court returned his case to prosecutors, citing "investigative gaps"; Abdul Rahman was released from prison and remanded to his family on the night of 27 March. On 29 March, Abdul Rahman arrived in Italy after being offered asylum by the Italian government. Representatives within the Afghan government and many Afghan citizens continued to call for Abdul Rahman's execution, and his wife divorced him shortly after his conversion, leading to an unsuccessful custody battle for their two children.
The case became a cause célèbre internationally, and particularly throughout the Western world. Harsh condemnation came from the United States and the United Kingdom, both of which were the world's leading donors of international aid to Afghanistan at the time. The Afghan government's integrity was called into question, as it had recently been established under the aegis of the War in Afghanistan, shortly after an American-led military coalition overthrew the country's Taliban government.
Early life Abdul Rahman was born in 1965.
In 1990, while he was working as a staff member for a Catholic non-governmental aid group which was providing medical assistance to Afghan refugees in Peshawar, Pakistan, he learned about Christianity and he was subsequently baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. After his conversion, he adopted the biblical name Joel.Quotidiano Net
In 1993, he moved to Germany and later, he unsuccessfully sought asylum in Belgium before he was deported to Afghanistan in 2002, after the fall of the Taliban government.
Abdul Rahman's wife divorced him because of his conversion to Catholicism. In the ensuing custody battle over the couple's two daughters, who had been raised by Abdul Rahman's parents during his absence,Rachel Morarjee (March 29, 2006). . Time. the mother's family raised the issue of his religion as grounds for their denial of his custody.
When he returned to Afghanistan, he was disowned by his parents, who stated: "Because he has converted from Islam to another religion we don't want him in our house" and "Abdul Rahman wanted to change the ethics of my children and family. He is not going in the right direction. I have thrown him out of my house", while his daughters said that "He behaves badly with us and we were threatened and disgraced by him. He has no job and has never given me a stitch of clothing or a crust of bread. Just his name as a father" and "He said he was my father but he hasn't behaved like a father since he came back to Afghanistan. He threatens us and we are all afraid of him and he doesn't believe in the religion of Islam."
Arrest and trial In February 2006, members of his family reported him to the police.Abdul Waheed Wafa He was arrested after police discovered that he possessed a Bible.Cooney, Daniel Afghan Convert May Be Unfit for Trial Associated Press, March 22, 2006, accessed March 22, 2006 After his arrest, he was unable to find a lawyer in Kabul willing to represent him. Authorities barred attempts by the Associated Press news agency to see him.
Article 130 of the 2004-2021 Constitution of Afghanistan enabled prosecutors to charge him for apostasy "in accordance with the Hanafi jurisprudence". The text of the article says: In cases under consideration, the courts shall apply provisions of this Constitution as well as other laws. If there is no provision in the Constitution or other laws about a case, the courts shall, in pursuance of Hanafi jurisprudence, and, within the limits set by this Constitution, rule in a way that attains justice in the best manner.Wolesi Jirga & Provincial Council Elections Afghanistan 2005
Prosecutors asked for the death penalty for Abdul Rahman, calling him a "microbe". Prosecutor Abdul Wasi demanded his repentance and called him a traitor: "He should be cut off and removed from the rest of Muslim society and should be killed." The Afghan attorney general was quoted as saying that Abdul Rahman should be hanged.Who will save Abdul Rahman? , by Michelle Malkin, townhall.com, March 22, 2006, retrieved March 28, 2006
Abdul Rahman's judicial proceedings, which began on 16 March and became widely known in the international press on 19 March, were overseen by three judges in the public security tribunal of Kabul's primary court. Ansarullah Mawlawizadah, the chief judge in the case, said that Abdul Rahman would be asked to reconsider his conversion: "We will invite him again because the religion of Islam is one of tolerance. We will ask him if he has changed his mind. If so we will forgive him."
Ansarullah Mawlafizada also said "the Prophet Muhammad has said several times that those who convert from Islam should be killed if they refuse to come back, Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance, kindness and integrity. That is why we have told him if he regrets what he did, then we will forgive him".
The judge added more conditions: "If [he] does not repent, you will all be witness to the sort of punishment he will face."
Even though he was facing a possible death sentence, Abdul Rahman held firm to his convictions: "They want to sentence me to death and I accept it ... I am a Christian, which means I believe in the Trinity ... I believe in Jesus Christ.""Afghan Man Faces Execution After Converting to Christianity" , by Benjamin Sand, VOA News, March 18, 2006, retrieved March 28, 2006
Efforts by Afghan Christians While Abdul Rahman was on trial, a number of Afghan Christians worked to bring the attention of the international media towards the suffering of the Afghan Christians and especially Abdul Rahman.
Mental fitness to stand trial The Afghan Embassy in Washington, D.C., announced on March 22 that the country's judicial system was evaluating Abdul Rahman's mental fitness. Moayuddin Baluch, a religious adviser to President Hamid Karzai confirmed that Abdul Rahman would undergo a psychological examination. Judge Mawlawizadah stated that since Rahman refused to repent then his mental state was being examined. If he was found to be mentally unfit, the case would be dismissed.
An Afghanistan state prosecutor named Sarinwal Zamari said of Abdul Rahman in an interview with the Associated Press on March 22, 2006, "We think he could be mad. He is not a normal person. He doesn't talk like a normal person. Doctors must examine him. If he is mentally unfit, definitely Islam has no claim to punish him. He must be forgiven. The case must be dropped." Other sources said Abdul Rahman is "perennially jobless and mentally unbalanced".
Prosecutor Abdul Wasei said he doubted claims regarding Abdul Rahman's mental instability. "I did not see any kind of mental problem in this case", he said. Wasei said that Abdul Rahman, when asked about his mental health, insisted that it was fine. "I am O.K., you can prosecute me, I can answer your questions", Wasei said Abdul Rahman told him.
Diplomats said that the Afghan government was "desperately searching for a way to drop the case" by declaring Abdul Rahman mentally unfit to stand trial.
The court also raised questions about Abdul Rahman's nationality. Abdul Rahman had lived abroad, in Germany, Greece and Belgium. If he had acquired dual nationality, it was argued, the status of his case could change.
There were various opinions regarding Abdul Rahman being declared unfit for trial. Critics said that declaring him insane would not solve what they regarded as a constitutional flaw that allows prosecution under Islamic law. An editorial in The Washington Times wrote that declaring him mentally unfit is "a manufactured loophole" which would enable the Afghan government "to back down to avoid a disastrous internal and diplomatic crisis. This solution, such as it is, won't resolve the underlying discrepancy in Afghanistan's constitution." A New York Times editorial echoed these sentiments, saying that declaring Abdul Rahman mentally incompetent was a way for the Afghan government to "avoid the mess" and "that would be a cheap trick because the law would remain on the books."
In France, Marianne magazine stated Western critics of the case might not be satisfied if the Kabul court avoided the death sentence for Abdul Rahman by declaring him insane and unfit for trial. "If he is not tried, he will probably end up in a psychiatric hospital, which for a man of sound mind is sometimes worse than death."
Release On March 24, 2006, Afghan authorities announced that they were considering releasing Abdul Rahman soon. A special government meeting on his case was held on the following day during which President Hamid Karzai conferred with several Cabinet ministers for a way to free him without angering the country's powerful conservative Muslim clerics who have called for Abdul Rahman's execution. After this meeting an unnamed senior government official said there is a "strong possibility" that Abdul Rahman would be freed on Sunday the 26th.Afghan convert likely to be freed after Karzai intervention , by Sardar Ahmad, mq7.net, 26 March 2006, retrieved 28 March 2006 However the prosecutor dismissed any claims that Abdul Rahman was to be released. Later on Sunday the judge made the following statement: "The case, because of some technical as well as legal flaws and shortcomings, has been referred back to the prosecutor's office"."Afghan judge says Christian convert case has flaws", by Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters Canada, 26 March 2006, retrieved 28 March 2006
Clerics question President Karzai's authority to order Abdul Rahman's release. Cleric Khoja Ahmad Sediqi, a member of the Supreme Court in Afghanistan, warned against interfering with the courts, saying that "The Qur'an is very clear and the words of our prophet are very clear. There can only be one outcome: death. If Karzai releases him, it will play into the hands of our enemy and there could be an uprising.""Karzai Searches for Solution on Christian", by Amir Shah, The Norman Transcript, retrieved 28 March 2006
On March 28, 2006, the AP reported that Abdul Rahman had been released. The announcement came after the United Nations said he had appealed for asylum outside Afghanistan.Christian Convert Released From Prison, Amir Shah, AP, 28 March 2006
On March 29, 2006, Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi announced that his cabinet had approved Abdul Rahman's asylum plea and Abdul Rahman had already arrived in Italy.Afghan convert 'arrives in Italy' , BBC, 29 March 2006, 17:07 GMT
Response in Afghanistan
Government officials Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted an unidentified Afghan official as saying that President Hamid Karzai has personally interfered in Abdul Rahman's case to secure the convert's release. "The president is personally working to resolve it peacefully. There is a way out of it", said the official. "I believe it'll take one or two days."