WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. officials are trying to ensure fair treatment for two American women facing trial in Afghanistan, a country the United States doesn't even officially speak to and where preaching Christianity can lead to jail.
The officials said Wednesday they will monitor to see if the aid workers, Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer, are treated well while under arrest, and will try to observe any trial to see if it is just.
But privately, they said they hope the radical Islamic Taliban militia who run the country will instead choose to expel the women. The women and six other foreigners face trial on charges of preaching Christianity, the Taliban said Wednesday.
The United States does not recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan and accuses the group of sheltering suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden. The Bush administration supports United Nations sanctions against the country, has no embassy and strongly warns Americans not to travel there.
Nevertheless, the U.S. consul general in Islamabad, Pakistan, has been in Kabul, meeting once with the women and also with Taliban officials. The parents of the American women also visited their children in Kabul and said they appeared healthy and well-treated.
The Taliban have repeatedly sought U.S. recognition. Asked by reporters if the U.S. would consider easing sanctions or giving greater recognition to the Taliban in exchange for the women's release, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said no.
``We don't see these issues linked in any manner, whatsoever,'' Boucher said.
The aid workers - the two American women, four Germans and two Australians - have been held for more than three weeks. They are members of a German-based Christian organization, Shelter Now International, and were arrested along with 16 Afghan employees.
U.S. officials said they had not been officially notified of the Taliban's intent to have a trial. They noted the group often changes its interpretations of Islamic law, and said the role of their reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, in any trial remains unclear.
The U.S. officials believe Omar is setting general guidelines, but it is not clear where he fits in the process, said one official who asked not to be identified.'
The U.S. government tells Americans traveling overseas that they must obey the laws of whatever country they're in. The government won't demand the release of a citizen arrested abroad or give legal advice.
Last summer, another American aid worker was detained briefly in Afghanistan and accused of being a spy, but then was kicked out of the country rather than charged.
The Taliban want U.S. recognition but are much more intent on consolidating control within the country, said Joost Hiltermann of Human Rights Watch in Washington. To do that, they feel they must crack down on Western influences, and they have always distrusted foreign aid workers.
``This is not new,'' Hiltermann said. ``Today it's promoting Christianity. Tomorrow it will be some other charge.''
AP-NY-08-29-01 2204EDT
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.