There were some late reports Friday that Abdul Rahman, the Afghanistan man who converted to Christianity from Islam, might be freed.

However, Muslim clerics in Afghanistan are still calling for his death, so if the state doesn't kill him, one could be forgiven for wondering if private parties will.

Here's an excerpt from the AP story on CTV.ca:

A government official and MSNBC said Friday that Rahman may be freed within the next few days.

"He could be released soon," an Afghan government official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the case to the media.

MSNBC, citing an Afghan diplomatic official it did not identify, said Rahman, 41, could be released Monday. The British Broadcasting Corp. said government officials were meeting Saturday to discuss the case.

And here's excerpts from an NYT story:

Preachers used Friday Prayer services to call for the execution of an Afghan Muslim who converted to Christianity, despite growing protests in the West. The conversion of the man, Abdul Rahman, 15 years ago was brought to the attention of the authorities as part of a child custody dispute. ...

One speaker, Maulavi Habibullah, told more than a thousand clerics and young people gathered in Kabul: "Afghanistan does not have any obligation under international laws. The prophet says, when somebody changes religion, he must be killed."

He and others demanded that the country's political leaders and judges resist international pressure.