Abdul Rahman Released

AP: Afghan Convert Vanishes After Release---

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan man who had faced the death penalty for abandoning Islam for Christianity was freed from prison and went into hiding Tuesday in Kabul after Muslim clerics threatened his life. Italy said it may grant him asylum.

Abdul Rahman, 41, was released from the high-security Policharki prison on the outskirts of the capital late Monday after a court dropped charges of apostasy against him for lack of evidence and suspected mental illness. President Hamid Karzai had been under heavy international pressure to drop the case.

Muslim clerics condemned Rahman's release, saying it was a "betrayal of Islam." They threatened to incite violent protests.

Justice Minister Mohammed Sarwar Danish said Rahman was staying at a "safe location" in Kabul. He has appealed to leave Afghanistan and the United Nations said it has been working to find a country willing to take him.

The Italian government said Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini will use a Cabinet meeting Wednesday to press for Rahman to be granted asylum there. Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu endorsed Fini's proposal.

Fini had earlier expressed Italy's "indignation" over the case and Pope Benedict XVI had appealed to Karzai to protect Rahman.

Good news. Hopefully Italy will do what the US ought to do and offer Rahman asylum. Where is our government, by the way? Our elected officials are all for letting masses of criminal invaders stay, but won't lift a finger for a persecuted man.

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