Alerts in Afghanistan
Call for Release of Afghan Student
Alert Update
Date: 25 March 2009
New evidence has emerged in the case of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, an Afghan student sentenced to 20 years in prison for blasphemy. The 24-year-old was arrested after downloading an essay which questioned Islam’s treatment of women and prosecutors have pinned their case on claims that he wrote part of the text himself.
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh in Torture Claim
Alert Update
Date: 22 May 2008
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, the Afghan journalism student sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Islam, has rejected the charges and told an appeals court in Kabul that he was tortured into a confession. According to Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL), his hearing has been adjourned until 25 May to allow the 24-year-old to consult with a lawyer and prepare a defence.
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh may escape death penalty
Alert Update
Date: 07 February 2008
Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, a student convicted of violating Islamic law in Afghanistan, may escape the death penalty according to a senior official in the Afghan government. A ministerial aide by the name of Najib Manalai insisted that he was not worried for Sayed’s life, The Independent has said.
Death Sentence for Afghan Student
Action Alert
Date: 25 January 2008
On 22 January 2008 a journalism student from Balkh University, Afghanistan, was sentenced to death by a provincial court for distributing ‘blasphemous’ material, the BBC has said. Twenty-three year old Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh was arrested in October 2007 in the northern Afghan city of Mazar e Sharif - an area where mullahs hold particular influence over law and cultural life - after downloading material from the internet relating to the role of women in Islamic societies.
Women Teachers Targeted and Killed
Alert
Date: 11 December 2006
Five people belonging to the same family where killed in their house on 9 December 2006 by Taliban militants. Two sisters of the family worked as teachers. They were killed because of their jobs, it is reported that they were warned in a letter to quit teaching. The two dead sisters brought to 20 the number of teachers killed in Taliban attacks this year, said Zuhur Afghan, the spokesman of the Education Ministry.
Education under attack - HRW Report
Alert
Date: 11 July 2006
In a recent report Human Rights Watch (HRW) describes the current situation in Afghanistan as forcing schools to close and that there is a risk of depriving an entire generation of education. The problem is particulary worrying for girls. Since Jannuary 2005, according to the HRW report (please see related URLS) there have been at leats 204 incidents of attacks on teachers, students and schools.
New Limits on Female Education in Afghanistan
Alert
Date: 16 January 2003
Human Rights Watch issued the 16 January 2003 the following Alert concerning the Right to Education in the Western Province of Heart, Afghanistan. The Alert stated that newly announced rules on female education in the western Afghan province of Herat prohibit men from teaching women or girls in private educational courses and uphold strict gender segregation in all schools, Human Rights Watch said today.
Afghan Police Beat Students in Hospital
Alert
Date: 14 November 2002
Human Rights Watch stated on 14 November that Kabul police have beaten and threatened students following protests at Kabul University earlier this week and are holding several injured students incommunicado at a hospital. Human Rights Watch called on the special government commission appointed to investigate the protests to protect students and witnesses from police abuse.