The Taliban authorities have confirmed that the British journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was arrested last Friday after illegally entering Afghanistan, is to face trial on suspicion of spying.
The Taliban's deputy foreign minister, Mullah Abdur Rahman Zahid, yesterday said that there was no prospect of Ms Ridley simply being deported.
"We have to determine if she really was a journalist or if she had some other intentions," he told the Afghan Islamic Press agency. Asked if she would still be tried if her credentials were verified, Zahid replied: "Even then she will be tried because she broke the laws of our land and entered our country without permission."
Ms Ridley, 41, who works for the Sunday Express, was arrested with two Afghan guides in the eastern city of Jalalabad, close to the border with Pakistan.
She was wearing a burqa - a long, veiled garment - but it is believed she was caught after attempting to take photographs in a bazaar. Photography in Afghanistan is illegal.
It is understood that a team of Express executives are now attempting to meet Taliban officials to secure Ms Ridley's release.
The British high commissioner in Pakistan, Hilary Synnott, made the same plea in a meeting with Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, his Taliban counterpart, on Wednesday.
There are growing fears that Ms Ridley will be used as a hostage, together with eight western aid workers who were arrested in August and charged with preaching Christianity.
Daoud Zaaoura, the father of Ms Ridley's daughter Daisy, nine, said yesterday: "It is bad news for Yvonne. It is bad news for my daughter."
The punishment for spying under Taliban law is death. Most observers, however, believe that the two Afghan guides are in a much more serious position than Ms Ridley and could face execution. The Taliban have refused to give any details of their fate.
The Foreign Office has urged the Taliban court to treat Ms Ridley fairly.
"We continue to urge the Taliban to resolve the case as quickly as possible so Yvonne can return home to her family, an official said.