Catholics welcome decision to grant asylum to Afghan convert
(30 Mar 2006) SHOTLIST 1. Wide of St. Peter's Square 2. Mid of St. Peter's basilica 3. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Nun, no name given: "I think it is a good thing, if he really converted (to Christianity)." 4. Various of newspapers with pictures of Abdul Rahman 5. Mid of police in front of Vatican 6. Wide of the Apostolic Palace 7. Set up shot of Qorbanali Esmaeli, President of the Association of Afghans in Italy 8. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Qorbanali Esmaeli, President of the Association of Afghans in Italy: "Its not a very fair when a person who expressed his faith gets investigated and then arrested and is supposed to be taken to court. I think it's unjust." 9. Mid of St. Peter's Basilica 10. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Qorbanali Esmaeli, President of the Association of Afghans in Italy: "It is the right of every individual to express their own faith, as they believe, I don't want to enter into a discussion about the Sharia, and the Afghan law. The Afghan government has to deal with this." 11. Wide of St. Peter's Square STORYLINE Catholics in Rome on Thursday welcomed the news that an Afghan who converted to Christianity and faced the death penalty has now been granted political asylum in Italy. Italian newspapers reported that the Afghan man was being held in a government safe house in central Rome. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday evening that Abdul Rahman, 41, was in the care of Italy's Interior Ministry. When Rahman was jailed in Afghanistan, Pope Benedict XVI appealed to Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, and the United Nations appealed for a country to grant him asylum. A Vatican spokesman said Wednesday the Holy See had no comment on Rahman's release and arrival in Italy. Qorbanali Esmaeli, President of the Association of Afghans in Italy believed it was unjust that "a person who expressed his faith, gets investigated and then arrested." Rahman arrived in Rome on Wednesday following his release from a high-security prison on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, Kabul, after a court dropped charges of apostasy against him because of a lack of evidence and suspected mental illness. Rahman was arrested last month after police discovered him with a Bible. The case has attracted wide attention in the West and led to calls by the U.S. and other governments for the Afghan government to protect the 41-year-old who angered hard-line Muslims by converting 16 years ago from Islam to Christianity. Conversion is a crime under Afghanistan's Islamic law. Italy has close ties with Afghanistan, whose former king, Mohammed Zaher Shah, was allowed to live with his family in exile in Rome for 30 years. The former royals returned to Kabul after the fall of the Taliban regime a few years ago. Italian troops were sent into Afghanistan after the US-led invasion of the country in 2001 to help with reconstruction. As of March 10, Italy still had 1,775 troops there, according to the Defence Ministry. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
