KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A man who survived a death sentence that involved being crushed under a toppled brick wall said Saturday his survival was proof of his innocence.

Shuma Khan, convicted of sexually assaulting a boy, was buried beneath the rubble of the 15-foot wall on Friday -- the punishment for homosexuality in parts of Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban Islamic militia.After a tank knocked the wall over on Khan, he appeared to be dead and his body was loaded on a truck and taken to a hospital. But doctors later said the 60-year-old man was only unconscious and suffered serious head injuries.

Under Taliban law, a death sentence is commuted if the convicted person survives the execution.

"I was wrongfully convicted for sodomy. And God has proven my innocence," Khan told The Associated Press on Saturday.

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"My whole body aches with pain, but thank God I have returned from the jaws of death."

The Taliban have imposed a harsh brand of Islamic law on the 90 percent of the country they rule. The law bars women from work and education, forces men to wear beards and bans all light entertainment, including music.

Also Saturday, the northern-based opposition freed 46 Taliban prisoners ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Fitr on Monday, said an opposition spokesman who identified himself only as Abdullah. The holiday marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The Taliban Islamic army responded by releasing 59 opposition prisoners, the Taliban-run Radio Shariat reported.

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