Petition for Abdul Rahman, Citizen of Afghanistan

We, the undersigned, on behalf of Mr. Abdul Rahman, citizen of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, do petition Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, George W. Bush, the President of the United States, all members of the United States House of Representatives, all members of the United States Senate, any and all officials in the United States Department of State, the Secretary General of the United Nations, and leaders of all member nations of the United Nations, as follows:

Whereas, the United States of America and a coalition of freedom-loving nations sacrificed lives and fortunes to remove the former government of Afghanistan from power, and

Whereas, Afghanistan was liberated from an authoritarian regime and given opportunity to establish a peaceful, free, and democratic republic, and

Whereas, Article 2 (2) of the newly-adopted Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan guarantees freedom of religion and religious expression, and

Whereas, the Preamble of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan endorses the United Nations Declaration of Universal Human Rights, which in Article 18 guarantees the individual right to convert from one religion to another, and

Whereas, the clear intent of the adoption of these measures in the new Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was to secure individual human rights, freedom of religion, and freedom of conscience, the very rights not observed during Taliban rule,

Be it resolved, we the undersigned, do protest the arrest and trial of Mr. Abdul Rahman for the alleged “crime” of converting from Islam to Christianity, punishable by death, and do urge and call upon President Hamid Karzai and the governing authorities of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to immediately release, acquit and exonerate Mr. Rahman in accordance with the aforementioned Constitutional principles; further, we do urge and call upon the Executive and Congressional leaders of the United States of America, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the leaders of all other member nations to exert the utmost diplomatic pressure upon the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to swiftly achieve the same.

A Petição aqui.