Editorial: Judiciary at odds with parliament over Christian convert

The Afghan judiciary has rejected concerns raised by the Wolesi Jirga, parliament’s lower house, over the freeing of Christian convert Abdul Rahman. The man was on trial and facing a possibly death penalty for apostasy because he had abandoned the Muslim faith, but was freed after he was deemed mentally unfit. He has since left the country and gone to Italy. In a session last week, Wolesi Jirga members said his release was contrary to Islam, and assigned parliament’s judicial commission to discuss the case with the Supreme Court and report back to the house. In a statement on March 30, the court lashed out at the Wolesi Jirga, saying that under Article 116 of the Afghan constitution, parliamentarians had broken the law by interfering in a judicial matter. The judiciary is independent and even the president cannot interfere in its affairs, the statement said. However, analysts interpret Article 127 of the constitution as meaning that if a two-thirds majority agrees, parliament can summon the chief justice or any member of the Supreme Court, and can even dismiss them and refer them to a special court for investigation.