Welcome to the 12th Century!

As Michelle Malkin reports via the AP,

KABUL, Afghanistan – Hundreds of people protested in Afghanistan on Monday against a court’s decision to drop a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity, while an official said discussions were underway to determine when he would be released.

Officials said the case was dropped Sunday partially because of concerns that Abdul Rahman is mentally unfit to face trial. The move also followed strong pressure from Western governments.

…

An Afghan official closely involved with the case told The Associated Press that the 41-year-old would be released, but authorities were debating how and when it would be done.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, had earlier said that a decision may be made by Monday and that Rahman would not have to remain in jail while prosecutors investigate whether to bring another case against him to the courts.

Rahman is being held at Kabul’s notorious high-security Policharki prison. He was moved there Friday after inmates at a police detention facility reportedly threatened him.

A warden at Policharki said Rahman was still at the jail Monday, detained in a concrete cell by himself.

Muslim clerics have threatened to incite Afghans to kill Rahman if he is freed, saying that he is clearly guilty of apostasy and deserves to die.

Monday’s protest ended peacefully about two hours after it started in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, said police commander Nasruddin Hamdrad. The protesters chanted “Death to Bush!” and other anti-Western slogans, while the police stood guard.

Authorities have barred journalists from seeing Rahman. But on Sunday, officials gave an AP reporter an exclusive tour of Policharki, which houses some 2,000 inmates, including about 350 Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

JackLewis.net - “Abdul Rahman Update”