The United States is closely watching the trial of an Afghan man who faces death penalty if he is convicted for converting from Islam to Christianity, according to the State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
Abdul Rahman, 40, accused of converting from Islam to Christianity is facing trial in a Kabul court. He reportedly converted 16 years ago, but was arrested in February after his relatives, who are observant Muslims, turned him over to authorities.
Replying to a spate of questions on the subject, McCormack said the US officials have taken up the case with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah in Washington.
"We are watching this case closely and we urge the Afghan government to conduct any legal proceedings in a transparent and a fair manner. Certainly we underscored - we have underscored many times and we underscored also to the foreign minister that we believe that tolerance and freedom of worship are important elements of any democracy,'' McCormack said.
The case has attracted widespread attention both in Afghanistan and internationally. While Germany and Italy have called for Abdul Rahman's immediate release saying the trial is a cause for great concern, the US which has led the war in Afghanistan defeating the Taliban in 2001, has stopped short of calling for his immediate release.
When asked why the US is not calling for cancellation of the trial, the State Department spokesman said, "It's a constitutional matter so it's a legal question... so there are two sides to this. It is a test of the Afghan constitution. It's a test of Afghanistan's democracy. And so as I said, we will watch the case very closely. We have raised it with the foreign minister."
Undersecretary for Political Affairs R Nicholas Burns also spoke about the case yesterday during a joint news briefing with Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah in Washington.
He said the United States understands the complexity of the case and would respect the sovereignty of the Afghan judicial system.
But, he added, from an American perspective, people should be free to choose their religion without penalties, especially prison or death.
Burns said he has discussed the case with the Afghan Foreign Minister and told him the United States hopes the trial will be held in a transparent way. The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan since the Taliban was ousted in 2001.
Addressing the joint press conference, Abdullah Abdullah said he understands the concerns of the American people, hundreds of whom have sent messages to the Afghan embassy.
"But I hope through our constitutional process there will be a satisfactory result out of that process," he added.