Trial of Christian aid workers in Afghanistan may be nearing conclusion

By JASON EMBRY Waco Tribune-Herald staff writer
From http://www.wacotrib.com/auto/feed/news/2001/10/13/1002950947.21267.4934.1678.html

Two Waco women detained in Kabul, Afghanistan on charges of preaching Christianity remained unharmed as their trial neared a decision, a mother of one said Friday.
"We have been told that everyone is all right," Nancy Cassell, mother of Dayna Curry, told the Tribune-Herald in a Friday e-mail.

Baylor University graduates Curry, 29, and Heather Mercer, 24, were arrested in early August and accused of preaching Christianity in the rigidly Islamic nation. They are detained along with four Germans and two Australians.

Their trial began in Kabul last month but was delayed for nearly three weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. It resumed more than a week ago after the detainees' lawyer, Atef Ali Khan of Pakistan, saw them for the first time.

Cassell said she expects Khan to present his case to the court today.

"I understand they will take two to four days to make a decision after that," she wrote. "I don't know if the detainees will return to the courtroom or not."

She added that Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, must approve the decision made by the judges hearing the case.

The eight have denied the charges, saying they were delivering humanitarian aid. Reports of the penalty for preaching Christianity in Afghanistan have ranged from jail time and expulsion to death.
Khan told a German newspaper he was convinced they won't be sentenced to death and "can well imagine that the court will hand down short sentences, taking into account the time already spent in custody, and then let them leave Afghanistan very soon."

"The Afghan authorities are behaving very fairly," he added.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer has repeatedly called for the workers' unconditional release. His deputy, Juergen Chrobog, has traveled to Pakistan in an attempt to help secure their release.
Curry and Mercer are members of Waco's Antioch Community Church. Church leaders put out a news release Friday saying they are encouraged by what the Khan has told them about the women's condition.

"The attorney was able to communicate to us letters that Heather and Dayna had written, and in those letters they seemed to be standing strong in their faith and in their hope," the release said.

Jason Embry can be reached at jembry@wacotrib.com or at 757-5743.

© 2001 Cox Newspapers, Inc.
Link to original provided. Cached for Fair Use for discussion only.