Italy grants asylum to Rahman

Italy Welcomes Man Who Fled Afghanistan

ROME - Italy granted asylum Wednesday to an Afghan who faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity, and Premier Silvio Berlusconi said the man was in the care of the Interior Ministry after arriving in Italy earlier in the day. Abdul Rahman "is already in Italy. I think he arrived overnight," Berlusconi said, declining to release more details. Rahman's jailing in Afghanistan inspired an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and efforts by the United Nations to find a country to take him.

[...] Anticipating that Italy's Cabinet would approve Rahman's asylum, Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said Tuesday that such a move would bring "all the forms of protection and assistance" related to recognizing refugee status.

Italy has close ties with Afghanistan, whose former king, Mohammed Zaher Shah, was allowed to live with his family in exile in Rome for 30 years. The former royals returned to Kabul after the fall of the Taliban regime a few years ago.

¡Muchisimas gracias, Italia!

Posted by Kyer at March 29, 2006 12:46 PM | TrackBack