Afghan Christian convert released from prison as asylum search continues News
Afghan Christian convert released from prison as asylum search continues

[JURIST] Afghanistan's Justice Minister [ministry website, English version] said Tuesday that authorities have released Abdul Rahman [Wikipedia profile], the Afghan man who faced the death penalty [JURIST report] for converting from Islam to Christianity. Sarwar Danish did not provide any legal details, but prosecutors had indicated Monday that Rahman was undergoing a mental examination that could have contributed to the decision to free him. The Afghan government had been seeking a quiet way to let Rahman go after being put under major political pressure from Western nations [JURIST report]. On Sunday an Afghan court sent his case back to prosecutors [JURIST report], saying it was "flawed" and lacked necessary evidence. Afghan clerics and protestors Monday called for Rahman to stand trial [JURIST report] under sharia law [CFR backgrounder], and a chief cleric said last week that the Afghan people would kill the convert if he was released [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

The United Nations [official website] has meanwhile been looking for another country to accept Rahman after he requested asylum [JURIST report] abroad Monday. Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini [official profile], one of the first to call for Rahman's release, said Tuesday that he would ask the Italian cabinet to grant asylum [press release] to the convert. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.