Taliban to Try Foreign Aid Workers

Two American women and six other foreigners jailed in Afghanistan on charges of preaching Christianity will be put on trial, the radical Islamic Taliban militia said Wednesday.

The parents of Americans Dana Curry and Heather Mercer said their daughters were healthy and in “good spirits.” They met with them Monday.

“We are now working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get back in to see our daughters on a more frequent basis, and everything is going very well,” said Heather’s father, John Mercer. “They have been very gracious hosts. They have treated us very warmly. We are just working with them closely to hopefully resolve this issue.”

The foreigners--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.

According to Taliban law, foreigners convicted of preaching Christianity in deeply Muslim Afghanistan face jail time and expulsion, while the penalty for an Afghan who converts to Christianity is death.