PAKISTAN: NEW APOSTASY BILL TO IMPOSE DEATH ON ANYONE WHO LEAVES ISLAM

a draft bill adopted in first reading by Pakistan’s National Assembly imposing the death penalty on men who leave Islam is now before a standing committee. The Apostasy Act 2006 imposes life imprisonment on women who leave Islam. It also forces them to forfeit property and lose legal custody of children. “We demand freedom of conscious, religion and expression in Pakistan”, said Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha. According to the bill, a confession in court or the testimony by at least two adults is sufficient grounds for conviction. The ‘offender’ must be granted 30 days to recant and return to Islam, but judges can impose still two-year sentences as punishment. The accused can convert and reconvert up to three times before the death sentence becomes automatic.