Bush to press Afghanistan in Christian convert (death penalty) case

Bush to press Afghanistan in Christian convert case

Thu Mar 23, 12:29 AM ET

WHEELING, West Virginia (AFP) - US President George W. Bush said he would pressure Kabul over the "deeply troubling" case of an Afghan facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity.

"We have got influence in Afghanistan and we are going to use it," Bush said on Wednesday.

"It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they chose a particular religion over another."

Abdul Rahman, 41, is believed to be the first convert accused in Afghanistan under strict Islamic Sharia law for refusing to return to Islam.

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"Religious decisions should be matters of personal choice, not a cause for state intervention," the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil liberties group, said in a statement.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060323/wl_sthasia_afp/usafghanistanreligionislamchristianity_060323052936