AP reporting this morning:

An Afghan man who had faced the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity quickly vanished Tuesday after he was released from prison, apparently out of fear for his life with Muslim clerics still demanding his death.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said he would ask his government to grant Abdul Rahman asylum. Fini was among the first to speak out on the man’s behalf.

Rahman, 41, was released from the high-security Policharki prison on the outskirts of Kabul late Monday, Afghan Justice Minister Mohammed Sarwar Danish told The Associated Press.

“We released him last night because the prosecutors told us to,” he said. “His family was there when he was freed, but I don’t know where he was taken.”

Not good. His family members are the ones who wanted to see him prosecuted for converting to Christianity.

Over the weekend, Secretary of State Condi Rice denied that Rahman’s sanity was an issue in Afghanistan’s retreat from prosecution. But:

Deputy Attorney-General Mohammed Eshak Aloko said prosecutors had issued a letter calling for Rahman’s release because “he was mentally unfit to stand trial.” He also said he did not know where Rahman had gone after being released.

He said Rahman may be sent overseas for medical treatment.

The lynch mob is still on the ready.

Several Muslim clerics threatened to incite Afghans to kill Rahman if he is freed, saying that he is clearly guilty of apostasy and deserves to die.

“Abdul Rahman must be killed. Islam demands it,” said senior Cleric Faiez Mohammed, from the nearby northern city of Kunduz.

More punting from our feckless State Department:

Asked whether the U.S. government was doing anything to secure Rahman’s safety after his release, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington that where he goes after being freed is “up to Mr. Rahman.”

Meanwhile, thousands of other Afghan Christians are fearing for their lives:

Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, welcomed news today that 40-year-old Abdul Rahman has been released from a Kabul prison after being acquitted of apostasy charges.

Rahman converted to Christianity 16 years ago when he fled to Pakistan to escape fighting in his native Afghanistan. He was released from a Kabul prison overnight after tests to determine his mental stability.

But Adams said the Afghan court failed to announce a clear precedent that protects the religious freedom of all Afghan citizens — regardless of whether they believe in Islam or another faith.

“There are reports that there are thousands of Christians in Afghanistan — all of whom are afraid of the death penalty for apostasy and have to go about their religious observance in secret,” he said. “It’s no different than it used to be in the Soviet Union — or in some parts of China now or North Korea.”

Afghan’s envoy in Australia wants critics in the West to give them aid, but keep their mouths shut:

AFGHANISTAN’S ambassador in Canberra has chastised the Prime Minister, John Howard, for saying it was unacceptable for Australian soldiers to put their lives on the line for a country that persecuted Christians.

Mohammad Anwar Anwarzai’s comments came as Afghan authorities released the Christian convert Abdul Rahman, who could have faced a death sentence if he had been convicted of abandoning Islam.

[Australian PM John] Howard yesterday welcomed Mr Rahman’s release, saying he hoped the strength of international reaction had “sent a very clear signal”. “As far as I am concerned, it would just be quite unacceptable to the Australian people or Australian soldiers to be having their lives on the line to defend, in any way, a practice that involved people being persecuted because of their religious beliefs.”

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at a press conference with Mr Howard, said: “What we are struggling for in Afghanistan and around the world are societies in which people are free to practise their religious faith.”

Mr Anwarzai said that while Mr Blair and Mr Howard were entitled to their opinions, the death sentence for apostasy was in accordance with Islamic law.

“It seems to me that these are two separate issues and should not be mixed,” Mr Anwarzai said. “We appreciate the assistance and help of the friendly countries … but we should not forget that this is a common cause that we are fighting for … and we would appreciate very much if this assistance could not be linked to anything else.”

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