Kabul, March 22 (DPA) Afghan Economics Minister Amin Farhang Wednesday accused the West of overreacting to the trial of an Afghan man facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity.

Under Afghanistan's strict Islamic code, Abdul Rahman, 40, could be sentenced to death after admitting that he changed his religion to Christianity.

'He'll get a fair trial,' the minister told DPA. 'He appears to be in a confused state,' Farhang said, adding that he might be declared insane.

Farhang said threats made by politicians in the West to curb aid or withdraw troops from the international security force in Afghanistan 'were nothing short of blackmail'.

Such action would only serve to help the terrorists who wanted to isolate Afghanistan within the international community - a move which 'could be dangerous for Europe and the rest of the world'.

Rahman was arrested in early February in the Afghan capital Kabul after family members filed a complaint with the government, accusing him of rejecting Islam.

Rahman, who lived in Germany for many years, became a Christian 16 years ago while working for an aid organisation in Pakistan. Fahrang said the accused had tried to make his children and other family members convert to Christianity.

According to Afghanistan's constitution, minority religious rights are protected, but Muslims have to follow the strict tenets of Islam, the state religion.

The Sharia, the Islamic system of jurisprudence, says a person who turns his back on Islam is an apostate and must be punished by death.

In Germany, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed 'deep concern' Wednesday and said he would intervene personally if necessary. Afghanistan, he said, was a signatory to the UN Human Rights convention, which guarantees freedom of religion.

In Rome, the Italian foreign ministry said it had summoned the Afghanistan ambassador late Tuesday to express Italy's 'deep concern' over the affair.

According to a report published Wednesday by the daily La Repubblica, Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said Italy and Germany had agreed to bring the case to the attention of the European Union.

Speaking on Italian television late Tuesday, Fini said he believed the death sentence would not be carried out.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raised the issue during a meeting Monday with Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

During a press conference Tuesday with Abdullah, US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said that handing down 'severe penalties' for religious differences was not acceptable.