Urging Afghan President Hamid Karzai to intervene in the case of student journalist Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh arrested under blasphemy charges, free speech groups in Afghanistan have described his detention as unconstitutional.

Kambakhsh, a 24-year-old student at Balkh University and a journalist for Jahan-e-Naw (New World) magazine, was arrested and sentenced to death in 2007 for ??blasphemy and distribution of text defamatory to Islam.?? Reportedly, Kambakhsh downloaded material about women?s role in Islamic societies from internet.

Last week, his death sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison. The Afghan Independent Journalists Association has described the verdict as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Afghanistan will now rule on the case in next five months.

Source: Quqnoos.com, Afghanistan, October 28, 2008