The case of an Afghan teacher sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy will go before a Taliban appeals court by the end of September, local sources in Paktika province said Sunday.

Abdul Aleem Khamosh was convicted by a primary Taliban court in July on charges of insulting the Prophet of Islam and other sacred figures. The trial was held without a defence lawyer, according to relatives and rights groups.

Family members said Taliban officials have now informed Khamosh’s lawyer that he will be allowed to attend the appeal hearing. They added that while prison visits were previously denied, relatives are now occasionally permitted to see him.

Khamosh, a teacher in Janikhil district of Paktika, was arrested earlier this year after reportedly telling students that modern sciences were more important than religious studies. His family denied the blasphemy allegations and called for his immediate release.

Taliban officials from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice detained him following the classroom remarks and transferred him to prison.