October 15, 2001
Attorney for Baylor grads meets
with Taliban chief justice
___By John Hall
___Staff Writer
___The attorney representing two Baylor University graduates imprisoned in Afghanistan met with the Taliban Supreme Court chief justice Oct. 11 to discuss the case further before presenting the case Oct. 13. Relief workers Dayna Curry, 29, and Heather Mercer, 24, apparently are charged with attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity, a crime in Afghanistan.
___The atorney, Atif Ali Khan, also further discussed the case with his clients for three hours Oct. 11. The women are two of eight Shelter Now International aid workers, including four Germans and two Australians, who have been detained since Aug. 3 in connection with similar charges. Sixteen Afghan nationals also were arrested on the same charges. Although it is widely believed the internationals face jail time and expulsion from the country, Taliban Supreme Court Justice Noor Mohammed Saqib has refused to discuss the punishment phase of the case, according to an MSNBC report. The Afghan defendants face death. Khan, who returned to Kabul Oct. 10 after translating court documents in Pakistan in preparation for the trial, told the U.S. State Department that the women were in good health and "extremely happy to see him" that day. Khan is the first person from outside Afghanistan to see the detainees since the start of air raids in Afghanistan by a U.S.-led coalition.
___The bombing began the same day the U.S. government rejected an offer from the Taliban to release the detainees if the coalition promised not to take military action toward Afghanistan.
___Despite the tensions between the Taliban, which controls about 90 percent of Afghanistan, and a U.S.-led coalition aimed at fighting terrorism, Taliban Supreme Court Chief Justice Noor Mohammed Saqib assured the internationals they would have a fair trial according to Islamic law, the Associated Press reported.
___And despite reports from Taliban officials and Khan that the women are in good health, John Mercer, Heather Mercer's father, said he has gotten a different idea of his daughter's condition from the letters she has faxed to him during her detainment.
___ "I think she is just emotionally spent," the father told MSNBC. "She is very afraid of the fighting she hears between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance, afraid of what the United States might do, and I just think her fears have gotten the better of her."
___If the trial resumes as scheduled, it will be the second such resumption in the past month. The trial was delayed more than two weeks after the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center Sept. 11. The latest delay is because the Taliban Supreme Court Justices allowed Khan three to 15 days, starting Sept. 29, to translate the six pages of court documents and prepare for the case. During that time he traveled to Pakistan to have more access to legal books and meet with the detainees' family and the U.S. consul.
___Editor's note: The Baptist Standard will continue to update this story online as new developments occur.
.
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook