Judge says West interfering in Christian case

Presiding judge Ansarullah Maulawizada, who is looking at the case of Christian convert Abdul Rahman, has described demands for his release made by Western countries as interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. Western leaders including United States president George Bush and German chancellor Angela Merkel have called on the Afghan government to release Abdul Rahman, 41, who converted to Christianity 15 years ago. He has been defending his conversion in court, where he faced a possible death penalty.