_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ Afghanistan ________________

Justice deferred
Trial postponed as war continues
The Taliban regime’s Supreme Court has indefinitely postponed the trial of eight foreign aid workers, saying the judges are unable to remain impartial while US air strikes against the Taliban continue.

Eight foreign employees of the charity Shelter Now International—two Americans, two Australians, and four Germans—were arrested by the Taliban in early August on charges of preaching Christianity. They were scheduled to face trial, with the possible penalties ranging from expulsion to death.

Justice Maulvi Mir Habibullah said members of the Supreme Court were concerned that the US air strikes on the Taliban would taint their judgment. “The bombardment and the court case are two separate things. We do not want one to involve the other,” Habibullah said in an interview with the Associated Press. “What is happening between America and the Taliban has nothing to do with the court case against the detainees. We will not allow the two to be linked,” he said.

John Mercer, the father of American detainee Heather Mercer, said the Taliban has assured him the US campaign would not influence the trial. He speculated the Taliban might use the workers as “leverage” in any negotiations, or release them in a show of goodwill. The US air strikes, he observed, “have given them other priorities they need to address,” he said. “They’re probably just trying to figure out what’s the best thing to do next.”

[As this issue went to press, the aid workers were freed as Kabul was liberated by opposition forces. More details will be available in the January issue.]

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