The trial of eight foreign aid workers charged with preaching Christianity in Afghanistan will start tomorrow, the ruling Taliban militia's top judge said.
In the first phase of the trial, the court will study the report about the case compiled by Taliban authorities, the Supreme Court's chief judge Mawlawi Noor Mohammad Saqib told AFPtoday.
"At the first phase of the trial complete information will be collected," he said adding that a "fair resolution" would be passed in the light of that information, Islamic Sharia law and the valid regulations.
The Taliban earlier today charged the aid workers with several crimes including preaching Christianity.
A foreign ministry statement said the "relevant files were officially submitted to the Supreme Court in order to make the final decision."
The two Americans, two Australians and four Germans from the Shelter Now aid group were arrested early last month.
The judge said that a special committee of highly qualified judges from the Supreme Court will be formed to conduct the trial.
The committee will go through the files of the detainees which the court received today, he said.
"First of all the committee will go through the files, and if there was a doubt in that, the investigators will be asked to give explanation" he said, citing the possibility of any discrepancy or translation error in recording the statements of the foreigners by the local investigators.
AFP