March 23 (Bloomberg) -- The case of an Afghan man facing a possible death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity is ``deeply troubling,'' U.S. President George W. Bush said, as the United Nations, U.K. and Australia raised their concerns.

The case of Abdul Rahman is the first of its kind in Afghanistan since the U.S. in 2001 ousted the Taliban regime, which imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic religious law, known as Sharia.

``It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they chose a particular religion over another,'' Bush said yesterday in Wheeling, West Virginia, according to a White House transcript. ``We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom.''

The UN, the U.K. and Australia joined the U.S. in raising the issue with the Afghan government, which has said it is up to the courts to decide the case. Afghanistan, supported by the international community, has moved toward democracy since the ousting of the Taliban, inaugurating its first parliament since 1969 in December.

``We have got influence in Afghanistan and we are going to use it to remind them that these are universal values,'' Bush said. Tom Koenigs, the UN envoy to Afghanistan, said the issue shouldn't create a rift between Afghanistan and its international partners, the UN said yesterday in a statement.

U.K., Australia

The U.K.'s Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said they are raising the case with the Afghan government.

``We don't want to see ultra-conservative judges in Afghanistan sentencing people to death because they've abandoned Islam to become Christians, or for that matter, they've abandoned Christianity and decided to become Muslims,'' Downer told reporters today, according to a transcript. ``We have made representations to the Afghan government to do what it can.''

Rahman was arrested two weeks ago when his family reported him to the police after his conversion, Agence France-Presse cited Afghan Supreme Court Judge Ansarullah Mawlavizada as saying March 19. Sharia law provides for capital punishment for any Muslim who converts to another religion and refuses to revert to Islam, AFP cited the judge as saying.

Mentally Unfit

The man may be mentally unfit to stand trial, AFP cited Wakil Omar, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Supreme Court, as saying yesterday.

``If he is proved mentally ill, then he wouldn't be tried,'' AFP cited Omar as saying in Kabul. Tests will have to be carried out on his mental health, he said, without saying when they would take place, the news agency reported.

Afghanistan's constitution states ``the religion of the state is the sacred religion of Islam,'' according to the State Department's 2005 annual report on religious freedom.

The constitution also says ``followers of other religions are free to exercise their faith and perform their religious rites within the limits of the provisions of law.''

The document makes no specific reference to Sharia law. The Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law included banning women from working and getting an education.

``As the Afghan constitution affords freedom of religion to all Afghan citizens, we hope very much that those rights, the right of freedom of religion, will be upheld in Afghan courts,'' Nicholas Burns, the U.S. State Department's top political affairs official, said March 21 after meeting Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah in Washington.

``I know that it is a very sensitive issue and we know the concerns of the American people,'' Abdullah said after his meeting. ``I'm sure that the guideline for our judicial system will be the constitution of Afghanistan.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at pr ptighe@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 23, 2006 00:36 EST