KABUL, Sept 4 (AFP) - The trial of eight foreigners accused of preaching Chrsitianity in Afghanistan will shed light on the inner workings of the secretive Taliban militia's unique judicial system.
Already serious questions about legal representation and international observers have arisen on the first day of the proceedings in the Supreme Court.
Judges and Islamic scholars met behind closed doors Tuesday morning and later declared the trial open, although the defendants still had not received legal advice and independent observers had been barred from the proceedings.
Diplomats representing the accused -- two Americans, two Australians and four Germans -- demanded clarification of the charges and possible punishments under the Taliban's radical brand of Islamic law.
"As consuls, we are very concerned to ensure that the detainees here get the correct advice from the Afghan authorities, about the process and what charges they are facing," Australian diplomat Alastar Adams told AFP.
A decree issued by reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar earlier this year allows for the death penalty against people convicted of apostasy or preaching religions other than Islam.
But a separate decree covering the behaviour of foreigners, released in July, stipulates only a few days in prison plus expulsion for proselytising.
There has been no clarification of which edict would apply in the case currently before the court.
Omar is the highest legal authority under the Taliban system. He makes laws by decree after consultation with religious leaders and senior ministers, and his approval is required before any death sentence can be carried out.
Once a verdict is reached, it will be passed to Omar for a final decision. He can choose to show mercy or he can increase the punishment as he sees fit.
Confessions are considered the most solid evidence under Taliban law, and the accused usually defend themselves.
However most legal disputes are settled out of court, sometimes following consultations with religious leaders or community elders responsible for enforcing rigid codes of behavior followed by the Pashtun ethnic majority.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Mullah Noor Mohammad Saqib said several Islamic scholars, as well as judges, would decide the verdict against the foreigners.
"How many there are and who heads the court, it doesn't matter," he said.
The Taliban aspire to create a pure Mohammadan state run according to their own strict interpretation of Islamic law. Western legal influences, as in most other areas of society, are openly shunned.
Executions are frequently carried out in public places such as sports stadiums, and while women are not allowed to go to picnics they are encouraged to see criminals put to death.
Last month four men convicted of setting off bombs in Kabul were hanged from light posts and cranes at a major intersection in central Kabul.
Their bodies were left dangling from midnight to dusk as an example to others.