With civilians the main victims of NATO and Western “liberation” in Afghanistan, a small piece of good news:
Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, the student sentenced to death in Afghanistan for trying to promote women’s rights, has been freed from prison. The Independent has learned that he is now living outside the country after being secretly pardoned by President Karzai.
The fate of the 24-year-old trainee journalist became an international cause célèbre after his plight was revealed by this newspaper. A petition to secure justice gathered more than 100,000 signatures and the Afghan government came under intense pressure from the international community to release him.
Mr Kambaksh was moved from his cell in Kabul’s main prison a fortnight ago and kept at a secure location for a few days before being flown out of the country. Prior to his departure, he spoke of how his relief was mixed with deep regret at knowing he was unlikely to see his family or country again.