Go to the Independent’s website to sign a petition calling on the Foreign Office to use its influence to prevent the execution of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh for “blasphemy” in Afghanistan.

Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women’s rights – Asia, World – Independent.co.uk.

A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country’s rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after “liberation” and under the democratic rule of the West’s ally Hamid Karzai.

The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in Afghanistan. He was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.

Tags: Urgent+action, Independent, Execution, Death+sentence, Afghanistan