Taliban Sentence Aid Workers to Jail
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Taliban's supreme ruler Sunday sentenced eight foreign-aid workers, charged with propagating Christianity, to three to 10 days in jail, the Taliban's Radio Shariat reported.
The aid workers - two Americans, four Germans and two Australians - will be expelled from Afghanistan within 48 hours of serving their sentence, ruled Mullah Mohammed Omar, the radio broadcast reported.
``If this is correct then we would view this as a welcome development,'' said John Kincannon, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Pakistan. He said no official notification of the sentence and impending expulsion had yet been received by the U.S. Embassy.
Diplomats from the United States, Australia and Germany, have been trying to get Afghan visas to travel to Kabul to see their detained nationals. The Taliban's foreign ministry in Kabul had promised to give the visas, likely next week.
A spokesman for the group said that Bibles and other Christian literature confiscated by the Taliban were for the personal use of the workers.
Earlier last week the Taliban displayed several Bibles translated into the local Dari language, as well as Christian films about the coming of Jesus Christ, also translated.
Salim Haqqani, deputy minister of the Taliban's ministry for the promotion of virtue, said the material was translated into local languages so it could be used to convert Afghan Muslims to Christianity.
The Taliban, who espouse a strict brand of Islamic law, have forbidden proselytizing. All international aid organizations were warned against preaching religion and according to other aid workers they all agreed to abide by the Taliban rules.
For Afghans the penalty for proselytizing is death, but for non-Muslim foreigners it is a jail term and expulsion.
It was still not clear how the Taliban will rule on the 16 Afghan staff of Shelter Now International, who have been held in a separate, undisclosed location.
Haqqani said the Taliban want aid groups to work in Afghanistan but they must respect local laws.
``They should give our religion dignity and not show disrespect by teaching against it,'' he said.
On Saturday the Taliban announced the release of 64 young boys, detained because they had been receiving food aid from Shelter Now International. The Taliban accused the organization of trying to convert the young boys to Christianity. The boys underwent re-education before being released.
However, the Taliban arrested the elder male relatives of the 64 boys to punish them for allowing their children to receive religious instruction from the aid group, said the state-owned Bakhtar News Agency.
Shelter Now International operates several projects throughout Afghanistan providing humanitarian assistance and participating in reconstruction projects like rebuilding irrigation canals. All the projects have been shut down.
Originally published August 12, 2001.
