Afghan journalist convicted of blasphemy released from jail News
Afghan journalist convicted of blasphemy released from jail

[JURIST] Afghan journalist Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the editor of the magazine Hoqooq-i-Zan, (translated as Women's Rights) who was convicted of blasphemy for publishing anti-Islamic articles, has been freed from jail [Reporters without Borders press release], a senior Afghan judge said Thursday. Nasab was arrested [CPJ report] in October for reprinting articles arguing that Islamic law does not allow flogging for adultery and corporal punishment for converting to another faith from Islam. Nasab was sentenced [JURIST report] to two years in jail, but the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan had expressed concern [UN News report] over the sentence, saying that Afghanistan's Media Monitoring Commission had recommended that Nasab be released from detention. After an appeals hearing Wednesday, Nasab's sentence was reduced to a six month suspended term, and he was released "under the watch of the government". Reuters has more.