Afghan man saved from execution

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KABUL, Afghanistan -- A court yesterday dismissed the case against an Afghan man facing execution for converting from Islam to Christianity, officials said, paving the way for his release.

The move eased pressure from the West, but raised the issue of protecting Abdul Rahman after his release, as Islamic clerics have called for him to be killed.

One official said freedom might come as soon as today for Mr. Rahman, who became a Christian in the 1990s while working for an aid group in neighboring Pakistan.

Muslim extremists, who have demanded death for Mr. Rahman as an apostate for rejecting Islam, warned the decision would touch off protests across the country. Some clerics previously vowed to incite Afghans to kill Mr. Rahman if he was let go.

Mr. Rahman was moved to Kabul's notorious high-security Policharki prison Friday after inmates at a jail in central Kabul threatened him, according to Policharki's warden, Gen. Shahmir Amirpur.

Gen. Amirpur said Mr. Rahman had been asking guards for a Bible, but they had none to give him. "He looks very calm. But he keeps saying he is hearing voices," Gen. Amirpur said.

Mr. Rahman was in solitary confinement in a tiny concrete cell next to a senior prison guard's office. A reporter who toured the prison was shown the cell door, but was barred from speaking or otherwise communicating with him.

A senior guard said inmates and many guards had not been told of Mr. Rahman's identity because of fears they might attack him.

But Gen. Amirpur vouched for the prisoner's safety. "We are watching him constantly. This is a very sensitive case so he needs high security."

The case set off an outcry in the United States and other nations that helped oust the hard-line Taliban regime in late 2001 and provide aid and military support for Afghan President Hamid Karzai. President Bush and others insisted Afghanistan protect personal beliefs.