KABUL—A recent death sentence for an Afghan soldier who killed five French troops is generating a controversy in Afghanistan, with insurgents hailing the man as a hero, and human-rights advocates urging clemency.
Abdul Basir, an Afghan soldier, was convicted Sunday by a military court of killing five French soldiers on a military base in the eastern Kapisa province in January, according to a statement released Wednesday by Afghanistan's defense ministry. Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Zahir Azimi said Mr. Basir would be shot dead.
Mr. Basir, whose rank wasn't given, was convicted of opening fire on unarmed French soldiers while they were training on their base. Four of them were killed outright and 15 others were injured, with one subsequently dying of his wounds. It was one of the worst such "green-on-blue" attacks—incidents in which Afghan troops turn their weapons on U.S. and coalition allies—since the war began.
Under Afghan military law, Mr. Basir can appeal his conviction.
The advocacy group Human Rights Watch urged Afghan President Hamid Karzai to commute the death sentence for the soldier.
Afghanistan's justice system "remains weak and compromised, in spite of over 10 years of donor assistance," the group said in a statement Wednesday. "It relies heavily on confessions, including some obtained through torture. Use of physical evidence is rudimentary. The independence and impartiality of judges is often undermined, especially in high-profile cases such as this one."
On a visit to Kabul on Wednesday, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian declined to comment directly on the court's verdict, saying it was a matter of "Afghan justice." However, Mr. Le Drian reiterated France's long-standing opposition to the death penalty.
Source: Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2012
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