Afghan journalism student sentenced to 20 years
An Afghan appeals court overturned a death sentence for a journalism student accused of blasphemy and instead sentenced him Tuesday to 20 years in prison. The death sentence against 24-year old Parwez Kambakhsh came to symbolize Afghanistan’s slide toward an ultraconservative view on religious and individual freedoms. Prosecutors alleged that Kambakhsh disrupted classes by asking questions about women’s rights under Islam. They also said he illegally distributed an article he printed off the Internet that asks why Islam does not modernize to give women equal rights. He also allegedly scribbled his own comments on the paper. Full Story