By KUNA,
Kabul : Afghan journalist Pervez Kambakhsh on Sunday told a court judge that he was not given chance during court proceedings to defend himself.
Student of the journalism department at a university in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazare Sharif, Kambakhsh was sentenced to death by a primary court in January this year. He was accused of distributing “derogatory” literature among his fellow students.
He was presented before a court in Kabul on Sunday to defend himself. During the proceedings, Kambakhsh told the court that he was given only a few minutes by the primary court in Mazari Sharif, where he was awarded the capital punishment.
On the first day of hearing of his appeal, the judge allowed the journalist to find a lawyer to plead his case during the next hearing. Kambakhsh had challenged his death penalty in a court in Kabul.
During today’s hearing, the journalist also denied the charges against him by pleading that he was a true Muslim and would never dare to insult his own religion.
The UN bodies, rights organisations and several other NGOs have expressed concern over the death penalty to Kambakhsh and had appealed to the Afghan government to interefere to save the life of the 23-year-old.