Former government minister Asadullah Sarwari was sentenced to death on 23 February for war crimes committed while Afghanistan was under communist rule, 1978-1992. His trial was grossly unfair and he has lodged an appeal; if this is unsuccessful, the sentence will need to be upheld by the Supreme Court and approved by President Karzai before it can be carried out. Amnesty International fears that public opinion in Afghanistan may force the judicial authorities to rush this process, though it is not yet clear how long it is going to take.
