President Bush said he is "deeply troubled" that an Afghan man is on trial because he converted from Islam to Christianity, according to a report by the Associated Press.
It is possible that Abdul Rahman, 41, will face the death penalty for a conversion that took place 16 years ago. Under Afghanistan's Islamic law it is a crime "to reject Islam."
Said Bush, according to the AP:
"We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom. I'm troubled when I hear, deeply troubled when I hear, the fact that a person who converted away from Islam may be held to account. That's not the universal application of the values that I talked about. I look forward to working with the government of that country to make sure that people are protected in their capacity to worship.''
The AP also notes that "Rahman's trial started last week, but a state prosecutor said Wednesday that he may be mentally unfit to stand trial."
