KABUL, March 22: Under mounting international pressure over the case of a man facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity, Afghanistan said on Wednesday the judiciary would decide the case. An Afghan judge said this week a man named Abdur Rahman had been jailed for converting from Islam to Christianity and could face the death penalty if he refused to become a Muslim again.

Shariat stipulates death for apostasy. Afghanistan’s legal system is based on a mixture of civil and shariat.

“We in Afghanistan have the prosecutor who observes the law and the court that executes it. Whatever the court orders will be executed as the court is independent,” said Mahaiuddin Baluch, an adviser on religious affairs to President Hamid Karzai.

The case has raised alarm overseas and the United States and three other Nato allies with troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday urged respect for religious freedom.

The case is also sensitive for Karzai who depends on foreign troops to battle Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, and foreign aid to support the economy, but also has to take into consideration the views of conservative proponents of Islamic law.

Asked about the international outcry, Baluch said: “Everybody has the right to express their view.”

Rahman, 40, became a Christian while he was living abroad, a judicial official said earlier.

The US, which counts Karzai as a key ally in the region, raised the case with visiting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday, calling on Kabul to uphold Afghan citizens’ constitutional right to choose their faith.

“We hope that the Afghan constitution is going to be upheld and in our view, if it’s upheld, then of course he’ll be found to be innocent,” said Nicholas Burns, the US State Department’s third-ranked diplomat.

—Reuters