[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 29



INDONESIA:

Indonesian death row Christians seek presidential pardon


3 Indonesian Christians facing execution by firing squad within days have
submitted a second request for a presidential pardon.

The 3 were found guilty in 2001 of murder, arson and several other crimes
during sectarian violence in Indonesia's Central Sulawesi Province.

Indonesian President Yudhoyono rejected a plea for clemency last year but
court officials in the provincial capital Palu have confirmed that a 2nd
request had been accepted from the relatives of Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus
da Silva and Marianus Riwu.

The Attorney-General's department said earlier it had planned to carry out
the executions before the end of March.

Pope Benedict XXVI earlier this month sent a message of compassion to the
men.

Supporters claim the men have been made scapegoats for the violence
between Muslims and non-Muslims, which killed at least 1,000 people in
2000 and 2001.

(source: ABC News)






GLOBAL:

Group Says Rahman One of Thousands Awaiting Death Sentence for Accepting
Christ----U.N. Expects Approval of Asylum Request from Afghan Convert


News reports indicate that Abdul Rahman, the Afghan man who faced a
possible death penalty for his acceptance of Christ as his personal
Savior, has been released from a Kabul prison. No one, however, seems to
know where he is since being released late yesterday. He had indicated
that because of death threats from radical Muslim clerics, he wished to
seek asylum in another country.

The United Nations says it will work with Afghanistan to accommodate
Rahman's request for asylum. Rahman, who claims he converted from the
Muslim faith 16 years ago, recently faced the death penalty for that
decision until a Kabul court dismissed the charges and reportedly released
him from a high-security prison near Kabul on Monday night.

But Islamic extremists have called for his death since the start of the
trial, prompting groups that are concerned about Rahman's safety to call
for his quick exit from the predominantly Muslim nation. Associated Press
is now reporting that Rahman "quickly vanished" after being released on
Monday night, and speculates he did so "out of fear for his life" with
Muslim clerics still demanding his death.

A spokesman says the U.N. expects the 41-year-old convert's request for
asylum to be met. "We've been working closely with the government of
Afghanistan to find a solution to this," Adrian Edwards tells Associated
Press. "As for Mr. Abdul Rahman, he has asked for asylum outside
Afghanistan. We expect this to be provided by one of the countries
interested in seeing a peaceful solution to this case."

He says the U.N. assistance mission in Afghanistan "has a mandate for good
offices and for upholding human rights in Afghanistan" and has been
following the case "closely since the outset." Hundreds of people
protested against the court's decision to drop the case. The decision came
partly because officials expressed concern that Rahman is mentally unfit
to face trial.

Conversion from Islam Taboo in Most Muslim Nations

The president of a grassroots human-rights organization says while much
attention has been focused on the Afghan Christian who was on trial for
his faith, the case is not an isolated incident. A recent report from
Associated Press confirms that observation.

AP points out that Afghanistan is not the only U.S. ally where Muslim
converts to Christianity can face prosecution or even execution. Saudi
Arabia, for example, neither permits conversion from Islam nor allows
other religions in the kingdom. In addition, there are no churches, and
missionaries are barred. Islamic Shariah law considers conversion to any
other religion apostasy and most Muslim scholars agree the punishment is
death. Saudi Arabia considers Sharia the law of the land, though there
have been no reported cases of executions of converts from Islam in recent
memory.

The report continues, noting that in Jordan, after a Muslim man converted
to Christianity 2 years ago, a court convicted him of apostasy, took away
his right to work, and annulled his marriage. And in Kuwait, a court
convicted a Shiite Muslim man who publicly proclaimed his conversion to
Christianity, but did not sentence him since the criminal code did not set
a punishment.

Jim Jacobsen, president of the group Christian Freedom International (CFI)
says there "literally thousands" of Christians all over the Islamic world
who are awaiting a death sentence because they converted to Christianity.

"We're involved with many, many other cases just like [Rahman's],"
Jacobsen says. "They lose everything -- all possessions, their
inheritance. They're literally thrown out into the streets. The local
mosque will issue a fatwa or death sentence against them."

The CFI leader says his organization sent a letter to President George W.
Bush, asking him to push for Rahman's immediate release -- and reminding
him that minority Christians face severe and growing persecution in many
Muslim nations. Jacobsen theorizes that Rahman's case has received
widespread media coverage simply because it can embarrass the president.

"He's spent so much effort and treasure on assisting in Afghanistan, and
they see this somehow as the president's fault and that his policies have
failed," he says. "But give me a break here. Yeah, we'd like to see a lot
more, but this is the kind of thing that's happening throughout the
Islamic world."

(source: Agape Press)