Afghanistan Supreme Court has accepted appeal request for reviewing the blasphemy case against Zaman Ahmadi, 40, who was sentenced to 20-year imprisonment in 2012, said a reliable source in the Afghan government on condition of anonymity.
The source further said that the court has also canceled previous verdicts for which Ahmadi has served seven years of imprisonment in Pul-e-Charkhi prison.
Alimadad Hakimi, lawyer of Ahmadi, however, did not confirm that the appeal request was accepted by the Supreme Court. He said they were still waiting for the final decision of the court over the appeal request.
Talking to Kabul Now, Hakimi said that the appeal hearing session was held yesterday, December 03, by the high council of the Supreme Court. According to the lawyer, the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the case would be announced on Wednesday, December 04.
Mohammad Ali Farhang, who is an independent lawyer and closely follows Ahmadi’s case, wrote on his facebook page today, December 04, that the government must now pay compensation for the wrongly imprisoning of Ahmadi.
He also argued that all the involved authorities from police officials to the jury members who were involved in arresting Ahmadi and issuing such a wrongful decision must be prosecuted legally.
According to Farhang, the court’s decision of jailing Ahmadi was totally against Afghanistan’s law and had no legal base. Farhang argues that the decision made by court violates Article no 34 of Afghanistan’s constitution, which allows every Afghan to express his or her mind.
Sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for the alleged charges of “apostasy and insulting Islam” in his never published write-up, Ahmadi was further accused of being converted to Buddhism.
However, in his trial, Mr. Ahmadi confessed that he is a Muslim.
