The family of a former Australian soldier sentenced to death in Afghanistan is hopeful the sentence will be set aside after they paid compensation to the family of the man he killed.
Lawyers for Robert Langdon, 38, met representatives of his victim's family over the weekend to finalise the compensation payment, known as ibra.
The Afghan Supreme Court will decide in the next three months what effect the payment should have on Langdon's sentence.
Langdon's sister, Katie Godfrey, said the family was optimistic about a reprieve but had not been given any indication of when Langdon could return home if it is granted.
"I believe ibra is a really important part of the legal process in Afghanistan, so I'm confident that it will have an effect," Mrs Godfrey said yesterday from her home in Port Augusta, 300km north of Adelaide.
Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director Sam Zarifi agreed compensation and diplomatic pressure could save Langdon's life, even though he could not recall a case in Afghanistan where an ibra payment had taken somebody off death row.
"We certainly haven't seen executions of Westerners in Afghanistan, and we've seen numerous high-profile cases where there have been pardons from President (Hamid) Karzai," Mr Zarifi said.
The amount of the ibra payment has not been made public but may run to tens of thousands of dollars.
Ms Godfrey said she knew her brother was innocent and wanted him home.
Langdon was working as a private security contractor in May last year when he was arrested for shooting an Afghan colleague four times in the head and body.
Langdon had argued with the man while they were trying to protect a supply convoy under attack from Taliban insurgents.
He has admitted killing the man, known as Karim, but maintains he acted in self-defence as the Afghani was reaching for his pistol. Langdon tried to cover up the incident by throwing a hand grenade into the truck containing Karim's body and ordering other guards to fire into the air to fake a Taliban attack.
He was captured soon after, trying to board a flight for Dubai.
Mrs Godfrey said Langdon was suffering physically and mentally in the prison, although friends were bringing him food to supplement meagre rations.
Source: The Australian, June 7, 2010
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