AFGHANISTAN. ITALY CONCERNED FOR AFGHAN CHRISTIAN CONVERT FACING EXECUTION

Italy added its voice to concerns for a man facing death in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity, as Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini summoned the Afghan ambassador over the affair.
Fini "learned with concern the news that an Afghan citizen, for converting to Christianity, risked the death penalty according to an interpretation of the Sharia," a foreign ministry statement said, referring to the strict Islamic law code under which the man was charged. Abdul Rahman was on trial following arrest after his conversion to Christianity was reported to police. Under Sharia law, he faced the death penalty if he refused to revert to Islam.
Fini summoned the Afghan ambassador in Rome to "shed light" on the situation and ordered the Italian ambassador in Kabul to approach Afghan authorities over the issue, the statement said.