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| Afghanistan |
| Trial of foreign aid workers resumes, kinda |
| 2001-10-15 |
The trial of eight foreign aid workers accused of promoting Christianity in Afghanistan resumed yesterday and their lawyer was set to present their defence after a one-day delay to translate his rebuttal, officials said. However, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maulawi Noor Mohammad Saqib had yet to appear in the court and it was not clear how the trial would proceed in the capital, Kabul, which has been under attack by U.S.-led forces for seven days. The Pakistani lawyer for the eight, Atif Ali Khan, had presented his written defence in Arabic. "It (the trial) will start as soon as he brings the defence either in Pashto or Dari," Saqib told Reuters on Saturday. Taliban sources said the eight foreign aid workers were all well and safe after seven nights of a U.S. bombardment on Afghan cities, with much of the fire concentrated on military and strategic targets around Kabul. Two Americans, two Australians and four Germans – all working for German-based Shelter Now International (SNI) – were arrested in early August on charges of promoting Christianity in the deeply Islamic country. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |