The Taliban yesterday charged eight foreign aid workers - two Americans, two Australians and four Germans - with several crimes including preaching Christianity and formally began legal proceedings against them.
"We have submitted the file to the Supreme Court," said Afghanistan's Justice Minister, Mullah Nooruddin Turabi. "There are so many charges against them, but the main one is preaching an abolished religion."
The Foreign Minister, Mr Wakil Ahmed Mutawakel, said: "The investigation conducted by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice religious police has been completed and their file will be handed over to the court.
"The charge will be that these people were misusing the sacred name of aid to propagate Christianity and try to convert Afghans to that abolished religion."
The foreigners, plus 16 Afghan colleagues at the German-based aid organisation Shelter Now International, were arrested last month.
Other charges they are likely to face include entering Afghani homes without permission and watching movies, which have been banned by the Taliban.
Mr Mutawakel said they would receive legal representation and diplomats would be able to monitor the trial, which would be run according to the militia's strict brand of Sharia law.
Once the court makes its verdict, it will be presented to Mullah Omar, the reclusive Taliban leader, for the final ruling.
The maximum penalty for Afghans accused of inviting Muslims to another faith is death, but the punishment for foreigners is likely to be less severe.
The Taliban has refused to explain the charges against the aid workers despite repeated requests from diplomats who are waiting in Kabul for the trial to begin.
The Deputy Foreign Minister, Mullah Abdul Rahman Zahid, said the foreigners had been moved from a juvenile correction centre in the middle of Kabul to an unnamed location.
"The eight aid workers were shifted to another place because the investigation is completed. Now they have been moved to a more comfortable place," he said.
The prisoners have been visited by the Red Cross, diplomats and the parents of the two American women. They are said to be in good health and high spirits, with "no complaints" about their treatment.
Last Friday, the Taliban closed two other Christian non-governmental aid organisations operating in the country.