Journalists under the Watch of a Conservative Justice System

The verdict against the editor of the magazine Huquq-e san (Women's Rights) was orchestrated by legal and religious forces. Ali Mohaqiq Nasab was arrested on October 1 after the magazine he publishes wrote that apostasy, i.e., turning one's back on Islam, is not a crime that should be punished by death. Radical interpretations of sharia, for example those in Iran, consider apostasy a capital offense.

Another article in the magazine spoke out against the practice of punishing adultery with 100 lashes and demanded that men and women be treated as equals under Islamic law.

Freedom of the press on feet of clay

When they took him into custody, Nasab's opponents blatantly skirted the law. According to the media laws in effect since March 2004, a media commission made up of independent journalists, human rights representatives, experts and the clergy must study the case and make a recommendation. Their recommendation, however, is not binding.

But Nasab was simply arrested on the street. "It was like a kidnapping," criticized one commentator, "not even the police were properly informed." Before he was sentenced he was twice called to appear before the court.

The second time he was called, he was led into court in chains and handcuffs, his head shaved. "He was led to the dock like a drug dealer or a mass murderer," said one observer.

These images were shown in Afghan television. In response, President Hamid Karsai ordered him released. But unlike two years ago when two journalists were arrested under similar circumstances, this time Karsai's intervention failed.

Nothing can better demonstrate just how fragile the new constitutional commodities of freedom of speech and the press are four years after the fall of the Taliban.

Ambiguous criteria for blasphemy

What is most problematic for Afghan journalists is that there are no clear criteria for defining blasphemy and defamation of Islam in the media. Much is left open to free interpretation.

Conservative clergy and mullahs recently attacked the private television station Tolo TV because its moderators appeared to imitate those of Western television shows. The Ulama council, the highest religious authority in Afghanistan, has since been considering starting its own television show — a kind of religious counter-program.

The organization Reporters without Borders, a watch group defending the rights of journalists, as well as the independent Afghan human rights commission have also demanded the immediate release of Nasab. The United Nations has also expressed concern.

A friend of the imprisoned editor says that he has been forbidden contact with the prisoner and fears for Nasab's life.

"The newspaper Huquq-e san has been around for a few years now," says Robert Kluyver from the Open Society Institute in Kabul, "and although all the articles have a critical take, they were always well researched, not defamatory. The choice of topics and the qualified way in which they wrote about things would have been enough for many Islamic countries," says Kluyver.

A muzzle for the independent media

Nasab has three weeks to appeal the conviction. Afghan journalists' associations are calling for reforms in the media laws.

"We still cannot write freely about issues with an Islamic context or about religion. This has to change," says Rahimullah Samander, chair of the coalition of independent journalists. He also fears that self-censorship is growing among Afghanistan's journalists.

Robert Kluyver sees the case as setting a dangerous precedence. "Rule of law is missing in Afghanistan, laws are lacking or are not followed through on. Even if Nasab is released, there is no guarantee that this won't happen again after a few months, with another journalist being called before the highest court for blasphemy."

Since a recent investigation into the case, harassment, intimidation and threats against journalists in Afghanistan have only increased. Armed militias or government representatives are behind these abuses. And they continue despite the fact that President Karsai as well as several of his ministers have in the past made an effort to promote freedom of the press.

Martin Gerner

© Qantara.de 2005

Translated from the German by Christina M. White

The charges of blasphemy against Ali Mohaqiq Nasab have meanwhile been dropped. The Kabul High Court ordered Nasab's release on 21 December 2005. (For further information see "Ifex.org" link at the bottom of this page.)

Qantara.de

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www
Report on the release of Nasab on the Ifex.org website
The Nasab case on the Reporters without Borders website