An Afghan court decided yesterday to re-examine the case of an Afghan facing execution under Islamic law for converting to Christianity after he appeared to be mentally unstable, a court official said yesterday.
The decision came after President Hamid Karzai held a series of discussions over the case under pressure from his Western allies, who have voiced strong protests.
Relatives of convert Abdul Rahman, arrested two weeks ago, said he was pyschologically disturbed and he himself admitted he heard voices, Supreme Court spokesman Wakil Omari told reporters.
"According to his relatives, his cousin Abdul Munir ... and his daughter, he's not mentally fit. He's mad," Omari said.
"He himself has said that he hears strange voices in his head," he said. "His files have been sent back to the attorney-general for further investigations."
Omari said 41-year-old Rahman's nationality also had to be established.
Rahman converted 16 years ago in Pakistan and spent many years in Germany before returning to Afghanistan in around 2002.
He was arrested two weeks ago after his parents went to the authorities, reportedly following a family dispute.
The Supreme Court said earlier in the week that Rahman must revert to Islam or face death according to Sharia, or Islamic law, on which the country's Constitution is partly based.
The case has provoked a storm of protest from many of the Western nations that are giving Afghanistan vital military and financial support to cope with an insurgency led by the former Taliban regime and the huge task of rebuilding.
Analysts had said one way out of the dilemma would be if Rahman were declared mentally unfit to stand trial.
Before the announcement, there was sharp pressure from Karzai's Western allies, with Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressing "disgust" at Rahman's possible execution and linking the issue to his country's troop presence in Afghanistan.
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