KABUL (AFX) - An Afghan court Sunday dropped its case against a Christian who faces execution for converting from Islam, referring the matter to Kabul's top prosecutor for a final decision, an official said.
The Supreme Court had decided not to pursue its case against Abdul Rahman after hearing testimony that he was mentally disturbed, court spokesman Wakil Omari told Agence France-Presse.
The attorney general's office in the capital would now decide if the case against Rahman, 41, should be pursued or dropped. Its investigation was likely to include medical tests, Omari said.
Officials said at the weekend that Rahman was likely to be released within a few days.
The Supreme Court last week said that Rahman must revert to Islam or face death according to Sharia Islamic law on which the country's constitution is partly based.
Rahman, who is being held in a maximum security jail on the outskirts of Kabul, converted 16 years ago in Pakistan and spent many years in Germany before returning to Afghanistan around 2002.
His case has provoked a storm of protest from many of the Western nations providing Afghanistan with military and financial support vital to battling an insurgency led by remnants of the former Taliban regime and rebuilding after years of war.
They have called on Afghanistan to honour its constitutional obligations to uphold human rights.
Many in Afghanistan point out that the constitution states 'no law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam'.
President Hamid Karzai met Saturday with a range of parties to discuss the matter, which an official said he regarded as a 'serious crisis'. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/hjp COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited