Death sentence for a young man who left Islam and converted to Christianity in Libya

A young man who converted to Christianity 4 years ago in the North African country of Libya was sentenced to death by the appeals court. The 'Middle East Christian Concern', which monitors anti-Christian persecution in the Middle East, reports that the young man (whose name has not been released by the media due to security concerns) was arrested shortly after his conversion and has been detained for the past few years and forced to renounce his faith in Christ. But the death sentence was imposed because the young man was not ready to give up his faith in Christ.

The situation in Libya is made miserable by the absence of a unified rule of law or official law enforcement agencies, as the country has no central government. In this situation, the task of the police and intelligence agencies is being carried out by Islamic militant organizations. Since there is no specific law for conversion in Libya, converts are prosecuted for treason.

The Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence based on one of the laws 'enacted by the General National Congress', an elected legislative body between 2012-2014. This law stipulates that those who convert from Islam should be given the death penalty if they are not willing to renounce their new faith. In addition to publicizing the information in local newspapers and local radio stations, converts from Islam in Libya must publish this information outside their homes and outside the courts.

During legal proceedings, converts are also not provided with the assistance of lawyers. In this situation, Christians in Libya are forced to carry their faith in Christ secretly. International religious freedom watchdog OpenDoors ranked Libya fourth on this year's WorldWatch list of countries with the worst persecution of Christians. There are only about 34,600 Christians in Libya