The Afghan kidnappers of Italian photojournalist Gabriele Torsello have demanded that Italian troops withdraw from Afghanistan if their earlier demand that Italy hand over an Afghan who converted to Christianity was not possible, PeaceReporter reported on Wednesday. "If it's not possible to obtain the Afghan apostate, then we want all the Italian troops out of Afghanistan," the kidnappers demanded in a phone call to an Italian NGO Emergency. The kidnappers had earlier demanded that Italy handover by midnight on Sunday Abdul Rahman, an Afghan who converted from Islam to Christianity in return for the hostage's release, Reuters reported. Rahman, 41, converted to Christianity 16 years when he was a refugee in Pakistan and worked with a Christian aid group. He was spirited away to Italy in March of this year, where he was granted asylum after having been denounced by Afghan clerics as an apostate, a charge that carries the death penalty in Afghanistan.