Taliban say Christian aid workers now on trial

KABUL, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The chief justice of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said on Tuesday the trial of eight foreign aid workers accused of promoting Christianity had begun but Western diplomats in Kabul said they remained in the dark.

"The trial proceedings started from today, but we can't say how long it would take as it depends on the pace of the gathering of reliable evidence and the reasons for a final verdict," Chief Justice Noor Mohammad Saqib told reporters.

The trial process under the hardline Islamic movement remained unclear.

Saqib, sitting with two swords and a whip fastened to a wall behind his desk, said Muslim clerics and judges would consider evidence and call the accused for questioning if required.

"The case has been referred to the Supreme Court. We will review the previous interrogation (files) and if needs be will want fresh questioning too... We want this issue to be resolved fairly," he said.

"(The accused) can express themselves and defend themselves either through a barrister or by themselves," he added.

Twenty-four staff from the German-based Christian relief agency Shelter Now International (SNI) -- four Germans, two Australians, two Americans and 16 Afghans -- were arrested more than four weeks ago on charges that could carry the death penalty.

Three Islamabad-based diplomats from Australia, Germany and the United States, who have been in Kabul for more than a week, said Taliban officials had yet to inform them of the trial, which they had been promised would be open.
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Saqib said it was undecided whether the foreigners' trial would be open, as previously stated by the Taliban.
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The Taliban say they have strong evidence that SNI's foreign staff were involved in trying to convert Afghan Muslims to Christianity but had no proof any conversions were actually made. SNI says its staff are told not to proselytise.

The Taliban have also evicted the foreign staff of two other Christian humanitarian groups -- International Assistance Mission and Serve -- saying they were connected with SNI.

The Taliban, recognised as a legitimate government by just three countries, rule about 95 percent of Afghanistan and want to establish a purist Islamic state.

Their strict interpretation of Islam has often earned them international condemnation, especially for human rights abuses and the destruction of the country's pre-Islamic heritage.
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