Taliban Trial Gets Underway

The trial of eight foreign aid workers, including two Americans, who are accused of preaching Christianity in this deeply Muslim nation began Tuesday in the austere office of the Supreme Court chief justice.

Koranic verses, a calendar depicting a U.S. missile attack on Afghanistan, two swords and a leather strap used for public floggings were the only adornments on the walls of the office of Noor Mohammed Saqib. The tables were piled high with books on Islamic law.

For four hours, mostly elderly judges sifted through evidence and debated the law as it applies to the eight aid workers--the Americans, four Germans and two Australians.

The trial, which Saqib said would be closed despite earlier promises that it would be open to journalists and relatives of the accused, is expected to continue today and last several days.

The eight foreign employees of Shelter Now International, a German-based Christian group, have been accused by Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia of trying to convert Muslims--a crime that carries the penalty of jail and expulsion for foreigners. The workers were arrested in early August.

“It is a matter of concern for the whole Islamic world, not just the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Saqib said.

He said the foreigners will eventually be allowed to speak in their defense and will be allowed to have a lawyer.

Diplomats from the United States, Germany and Australia as well as relatives of the two jailed American women were not informed about the start of the trial.

“We are certainly going to request” details about the trial procedure, said David Donahue, consul-general at the U.S. Embassy in neighboring Pakistan.

The eight foreigners were arrested along with 16 Afghan employees of the aid group. It’s not known when the trial of the Afghan employees will be held. For an Afghan, the penalty for proselytizing is death.

The only precedent of foreigners being tried in Afghanistan under the Taliban occurred in March 1997, when two French aid workers were tried on charges of immoral conduct. After spending 26 days in jail, they were sentenced to time served and ordered to leave the country. Their trial lasted less than an hour.

However, analysts say the Taliban is more organized than in 1997 and would like to demonstrate that.