Trial Nears for Afghan Christian's Conversion  

Court May Enact Sharia Law for Apostasy Charge

Washington, D.C. (November 22, 2010) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that an Afghan convert to Christianity is scheduled to appear in court without legal representation. If charged with apostasy, a ‘crime’ not referenced in the Afghan penal code, the judge may use Sharia (Islamic) law to reach a verdict.

Sayed Mossa was arrested on May 31 after footage was nationally televised of Muslim converts to Christianity being baptized. The broadcast triggered protests throughout the country and a national government crackdown against Christians. 

Mossa’s trial, scheduled for November 21^st, has been postponed until a later date. While no formal charges have been announced, friends of Mossa anticipate that he will be tried for apostasy, a capital offence which may warrant the death sentence.

Qamaruddin Shenwari, director of the Kabul courts' north zone, told CNN, “If there is no clear verdict as to whether an act is criminal or not in the penal code of the Afghan Constitution, then it would be referred to sharia law where the judge has an open hand in reaching a verdict."

Afghanistan is a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). According to article 11(2), “No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.”

Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said, “Millions of dollars have been invested by the international community to build Afghanistan’s judicial system by training judges, prosecutors, and others to follow Afghanistan's constitution. The fruit of this investment, as far as religious freedom is concerned, is that an innocent man may be tried under the same Sharia law used by the Taliban. Mossa is scheduled to stand before a Muslim court without representation and will likely be asked to renounce his Christian beliefs. His response to that question may determine his fate, and before a Sharia court, his sentence may be death.”

Please contact the Afghan Embassy or Consulate in your country and politely ask Afghan officials to grant Sayed Mossa a fair trial that recognizes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which Afghanistan is bound to. Please also ask that Mossa’s trial be delayed until he is given legal representation.

Afghan Embassies:

USA: 202.483.6410 

Canada: 613.563.4223 

U.K.: 44 2075898891-2

Germany: 49-22 825-1925

France: 01 45 25 05 29

Australia: 61-2-62827311-6282 6034

For interviews, contact Aidan Clay, Regional Manager for the Middle East: clay@persecution.org