An Afghan journalist who was recently sentenced to two years in prison for publishing controversial magazine articles about Islam, women’s rights and the Afghan justice system will be released from jail later this week, officials said. Before gaining his freedom, however, Ali Mohaqeq Nasab had to confront an agonizing choice: formally apologize for what he had published or risk being sent to the gallows. Ali Mohaqeq Nasab, pictured in a newspaper photo, was sentenced to two years in prison for publishing offensive articles and is scheduled to be released this week. After refusing for three months to retract his comments, Nasab told an appeals court this week that he was sorry for printing stories that asserted women should be given status equal to men in court, questioned the use of physical punishments for crimes and suggested converts from Islam should not face execution.Full Story