For a change : from the Beeb; a post about Islam.

<font size="2">An Afghan journalist has been sentenced to death by a provincial court for distributing &quot;blasphemous&quot; material. </font>

Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, 23, was arrested in 2007 after downloading material from the internet relating to the role of women in Islamic societies. </p>

A primary court in Balkh province said that Kambakhsh had confessed to blasphemy and had to be punished. </p>

The court also threatened to arrest any reporters who protested against Kambakhsh's sentence. </p>

Kambakhsh, a student at Balkh University and a journalist for Jahan-e Naw (New World), was arrested in October 2007 after material he downloaded was deemed to be offensive to Islam. </p>

Shamsur Rahman, the head of the court, told Reuters news agency: &quot;According to... the Islamic law, Sayed Perwiz is sentenced to death at the first court. </p>

&quot;However, he will go through three more courts to declare his last punishment,&quot; he said. </p>