Taliban to try British journalist

Ridley: uncovered trying to enter Afghanistan illegally in fully-covered Muslim dress

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Afghanistan's ruling Taliban plan to put British journalist Yvonne Ridley on trial for illegally entering the country, the Afghan Islamic Press said on Thursday.

"She will be tried because she broke the laws of our land and entered our country without permission," AIP quoted Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister Mullah Abdur Rahman Zahid as saying.

Ridley, 41, who works for Britain's Sunday Express newspaper, was picked up along with her two guides close to the eastern city of Jalalabad last Friday while dressed in an all-enveloping Afghan abaya.

"Right now the investigation of the British journalist is under way and then her case will be sent to the courts for a trial," he was quoted as saying.

Taliban Foreign Ministry officials here said Thursday that they do not suspect Ridley of spying.

But they say that preliminary investigations are under way and if evidence is brought forward, Ridley will be tried under Afghan law.

'Ill intent'

In London, the foreign office said it was urgently following up on the report.

"If it is true, we urge the court to treat her fairly and we obviously urge the Taliban to resolve the matter as soon as possible," a Foreign Office spokeswoman told Reuters news agency.

On Wednesday, Taliban Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal has said that Ridley had committed a serious crime and may even be a member of a special forces unit.

The Taliban intelligence network was still investigating the case, he said.

Jamal said Ridley had apologised for crossing into Afghanistan without authority.

Scores of journalists have poured into the north of Afghanistan, entering terrain controlled by the Taliban's opposition Northern Alliance from neighboring Tajikistan.

Aid workers

Eight foreign aid workers arrested in early August -- four Germans, two Australians and two Americans -- are still in Kabul awaiting trial for allegedly promoting Christianity in the strict Muslim regime.

A Taliban court on Sunday granted the attorney acting on behalf of the eight up to 15 days to formulate a defense over the charges.

The Taliban court on Sunday promised a fair trial despite the threat of a U.S. military attack on Afghanistan.