Legislation has been brought by the government of President Mahmoud Amadinejad before the Iranian Majlis that would mandate the death penalty for apostates from Islam. The law's reach would be worldwide, the legislation says.

The Washington think tank, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy has reported the proposed “Bill for Islamic Penal” law will be the first time that Iran has by statute mandated the death penalty for conversion from Islam.

The legislation used the word  Hadd -- meaning that it explicitly sets death as a fixed punishment that cannot be changed, reduced or annulled. In the past, the death penalty has been handed down, and also carried out, in apostasy cases, but it has never before been set down in law, the Institute's president, Joseph Grieboski said.

The proposed Iranian law would enshrine the mandatory death penalty into the country's civil code for men. Women apostates would be imprisoned. Two types of apostasy are set down in the legislation: parental and innate.

Innate apostates are those whose parents were Muslim, declared themselves as Muslim as an adult and then leave the faith.

Parental apostates are those whose parents were non-Muslims, who had become Muslims as adults, and then left the faith.

Article 225-7 states the “Punishment for an innate apostate is death,” while Article 225-8 allows a parental apostate three days to recant their apostasy. If they continue in their unbelief, “the death penalty would be carried out.”

Article 112 would give the law an extraterritorial jurisdiction, extending its mandate to cover those who renounce Islam both inside and outside Iran.

The law criminalizes heresy saying that anyone who claims to be a Prophet, or a Muslim who creates a sect based on that which is contrary to the obligations and necessities of Islam, is considered an apostate.

Those who practice “witchcraft” shall also be “sentenced to death.”

The draft penal code is gross violation of fundamental and human rights by a regime that has repeatedly abused religious and other minorities, said Mr Grieboski. This is simply another legislative attempt on the part of the Iranian regime to persecute religious minorities.

The proposed laws were a legislative tool to consolidate power around the regime and extend its religious tyranny globally, Grieboski said, and should be condemned by the international community.

The European Union has called on Iran to drop provisions in a draft penal code stipulating the death penalty for apostasy, heresy and witchcraft.

These articles clearly violate the Islamic Republic of Iran's commitments under the international human rights conventions, the Slovenian EU Presidency said in a statement.

The EU calls upon the Iranian authorities, both in government and parliament, to modify the draft penal code in order to respect the obligations.

The statement said the death penalty had been carried out in Iran for apostasy but it had never before been set down in law.

Life in Iran, in particular for women, can already be pretty grim. But it is about to get a whole lot worse. For just about everybody.

The Iranian parliament is discussing a new penal code, under which citizens who convert from another religion will face execution. The Baha'i community, among the most persecuted of all in Iran described this as a 'gross violation' of Iran's human rights obligations.

Iran's penal codes are already mercilessly draconian. Underground, the youth ministry of Open Doors, reports: No converts to Christianity have been convicted of “apostasy” since international pressure forced officials to drop the death sentence of Christian convert Mehdi Dibaj in 1994. But in the years following the convert’s release, Dibaj and four other Protestant pastors, both converts and those working with converts, have been brutally murdered.

The Institute on Religion and Public Policy published precise details of the proposed new code earlier this month. Besides apostates, the code also s the death penalty for anyone who 'insults the Prophet'.

The Baha'is have reason to be worried. As they said today, the draft code's section on apostasy mandates the death penalty for anyone who changes his religion from Islam. It also extends to naming as an apostate any follower of a religion other than Islam who had one parent who was a Muslim at the time of his or her conception. For example, the child of a Muslim and a Christian who chose to be a Christian would be considered an apostate and subject to capital punishment.

Dr Nazila Ghanea, lecturer in human rights law at Oxford university and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Religion and Human Rights, said: The laws will give the Iranian government legal grounds to resort to taking the lives of any of its citizens who choose to adopt a religion other than Islam. The code is a gross violation by the Islamic Republic of Iran of its obligations as a party to a number of international human rights instruments, particularly those relating to freedom of religion or belief.'

Reports from Iran say that two Christian converts have been charged with apostasy. The two were reportedly detained in May in a park in the city of Shiraz, and according to Christian groups, Mahmud Matin Azad and Arash Basirat have been held in solitary confinement since then.

A member of an Iranian Christian group based in Dubai told Radio Farda that he is concerned the two could face the death penalty.

A member of the Tehran-based Center for Human Rights Defenders, Mohammad Seyfzadeh, tells Radio Farda that charging individuals with apostasy is a clear violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Update: Official

11th September 2008

The two Iranian Christians have officially been charged with "apostasy," or leaving Islam, as a draft law making the death penalty mandatory for those convicted of the charge is set to be debated in Iran's Parliament.

The Iranian Parliament voted in favor of a bill Tuesday that would punish apostasy with the death penalty, a human rights group reported.

Lawmakers approved the bill with 196 votes in favor, 7 against, and two abstentions, according Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

The draft bill seeks to add several crimes to the list of acts that would result in execution, including establishing weblogs and sites promoting corruption, prostitution, and apostasy.

CSW advocacy director Alexa Papadouris commented, It is deeply worrying to hear that just days after Matin-Azad and Basirat have been charged with apostasy at a court in Shiraz, the Iranian Parliament is debating a bill that could codify the death penalty for someone choosing their own religion.

Iranian officials have released two Christian converts who were being held in prison on apostasy charges, one week after the Iranian Government voted overwhelmingly in favour of new legislation to introduce the death penalty for anyone who leaves the Muslim faith.

Mahmoud Mohammed Matin-Azad and Arash Ahmad-Ali Basirat were arrested in May and charged with apostasy following their conversion to Christianity from Islam.

Andy Dipper, head of Christian persecution watchdog Release International, gave a cautious welcome to news of their release: We're delighted Iran has dropped its charges against these men but existence is about to become even tougher for other Iranians seeking freedom of faith.

Their release follows a statement from the EU last week, in which it urged the Iranian Government to reconsider the debate on the draft bill on apostasy and pressed for the release of people imprisoned because of their religious affiliation.

Update: Pressure Works

2nd November 2008

It seems that a little pressure from above caused the court to overlook the ecidence of apostasy. Two lucky guys it appears.

A member of Iran's Parliament reportedly revealed last week that the country's Parliamentary Committee has stricken the mandatory death penalty for those who leave Islam from proposals for an amended penal code.

Citing a BBC Persian news service report, UK-based Christian Solidarity International (CSW) announced that a member of Iran's Legal and Judicial Committee of Parliament, Ali Shahrokhi, had told the Iranian state news agency (IRNA) of the decision to eliminate the mandatory death penalty amendment, which had drawn international protests.

The Parliamentary Committee had come under intense international pressure to drop clauses from the Islamic Penal Code Bill that allowed stoning and made death the mandatory punishment for apostates.

CSW said that the bill must now pass through a final parliamentary vote before being sent to Iran's most influential body, the Guardian Council, which will rule on it.

The council is made up of six conservative theologians appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader and six jurists nominated by the judiciary and approved by Parliament. This body has the power to veto any bill it deems inconsistent with the constitution and Islamic law.

Two Iranian women jailed in Iran's notorious Evin prison for converting from Islam to Christianity may be executed for apostasy, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

The two women, Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, and Maryam Rustampoor, 27, were arrested in March, although they converted to Christianity about 10 years ago, Javadzadeh said.

Recent judicial revisions in Iran outlaw the death sentence for apostasy. But until the provisions are finalized, there is still a danger they will not be followed.

A judge has sent two young Christian women back to jail to consider their options after they refused to deny Christ in court.

Maryam Rostampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad were asked if they would renounce their new faith and return to Islam – but they refused. When asked if they had any regrets over becoming Christians, they said they had none. The judge reportedly sent them back to their cells at the notorious Evin prison in Tehran to think about it.

The women have been held without charge since their arrest on 5 March, although some reports say they have been threatened with apostasy charges, reports Release International.

An Iranian judge charged two jailed female converts with crimes of apostasy and propagation of the Christian faith, a human rights group reported.

International Christian Concern said it has learned from Elam ministries in Iran that Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh were unexpectedly taken to appear before the court and were formally charged by the judge.

However, in a positive development, the report said, the judge had dropped the earlier charge of anti-state activities. Their case has now been transferred from the revolutionary court to the regular courts. The women and their lawyer are pleased with this development, it stated.

The two converts were arrested on March 5 for leaving Islam and embracing Christianity. They were placed in a solitary confinement in the infamous Evin prison, deprived of medical attention and often blindfolded during interrogations for several hours over the course of five months without being charged.

Iranian officials accused them of anti-state activities following their conversion from Islam to Christianity. After five months, they were tried on August 9 by the revolutionary court and ordered to recant their faith in Christ which they said they will never do. The women remained in prison until they appeared again in court on Tuesday when they were finally charged.

Two Christian Iranian women, Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad have been released from prison with no bail amid an international campaign calling for their freedom since their arrest on March 5.

The two women, whose health deteriorated while in detention at the notorious Evin prison in Tehran, are at their homes recovering from their nine-month ordeal, an Iranian source told Compass. They still could face charges of proselytizing and apostasy, or leaving Islam.

The women's lawyer had been working to secure their release, and although they were expected to be released yesterday, he was not able to do so because of the high bail the court was demanding. The Compass source said that it was too soon to determine how the lawyer was able to secure their release without bail today, a rarity for Christians released from prison in Iran.

The source credited their release to international lobbying and pressure on the Iranian government.

Rostampour and Esmaeilabad were arrested in March and detained on charges of acting against state security, taking part in illegal gatherings and apostasy under Iran's Revolutionary Court system.

On Aug. 9 the women appeared before a judge who pressured them to recant their faith and return to Islam or spend more time in prison. The two women refused. Last month, on Oct. 7, they were acquitted of the charge of anti-state activities, and their case was transferred to the General Court.

The charges of proselytizing and apostasy remain against them but are not handled by the Revolutionary Court. While proselytizing and apostasy are not crimes specified in the current Penal Code, judges are required to use their knowledge of Islamic law in cases where no codified law exists.

Update: Under threat again

11th April 2010. See article from christianpost.com

The two Iranian female converts to Christianity, who were released in November, will again appear before a judge next Tuesday, an Iran-focused Christian ministry reported. Related

Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, were summoned for a court hearing on April 13.

Two christian women converts in Iran were acquitted of all charges and rapidly departed for another safer country.

Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadeh were cleared of apostasy, anti-state activity, and participating in illegal gatherings, reported Elam Ministries, an Iran-focused ministry that has followed the case since the beginning. But Iranian authorities warned them that they will face serious consequences if they continue their Christian activities in Iran.

Rostampour and Amirizadeh were arrested in March 2009 on charges of anti-state activity and for taking part in illegal gatherings, or in other words, for participating in house church activities. They were detained in the notorious Evin prison, a facility known for its human rights violations and capital punishment, while their trial took place in Tehran.

During an Aug. 9 court hearing, they told the judge, We love Jesus, Yes, we are Christians, and We will not deny our faith. Then in October they learned that a third charge was added, apostasy.

In Iran it is illegal for Muslims to convert to Christianity, although Christians are allowed to convert to Islam.

Iranian opposition groups are reporting the arrests of dozens of evangelical Christians, many of whom are converts from Islam. Christian groups inside Iran say that the country's Ministry of Islamic Guidance has also grilled dozens of Christians it accuses of proselytizing.

Armed security officers forcibly entered the homes of Christians, verbally and physically abused them, before handcuffing them and taking them for interrogation, reports the Cyprus-based group Middle East Concern. It adds that some were released after intense questioning and forcibly coerced statements that they would no longer participate in Christian activities.

Seeking to convert Muslims to Christianity or other religions is considered a crime in Iran and many other Islamic countries. Christian missionaries are routinely expelled and sometimes jailed for distributing Bibles and other religious material.

The governor of Tehran province, Morteza Tamadon, confirmed the arrests several days ago, complaining that Protestant evangelicals were conducting an enemy cultural invasion. He likened Protestants to the Taliban, whom he referred to as parasites.

Five Iranian Christians, who were recently sentenced to one year's imprisonment for crimes against the Islamic Order at the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz, will stand trial in a lower court on blasphemy charges in fifteen days time.

Pastor Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Mehdi Furutan, Mohammad Beliad, Parviz Khalaj and Nazly Beliad, members of the Church of Iran denomination, were arrested in June 2010 on charges of apostasy, political meetings, blasphemy and crimes against the Islamic Order. They spent eight months in jail before being released on bail in February. Their lawyer has appealed the one-year prison sentence for crimes against the Islamic Order and a decision is pending.

The situation for Christians in Iran is worsening, with churches finding it difficult to hold meetings, and many Christians attempting to flee the country.

Update: Delayed

11th April 2011. See article from christiantoday.com

Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports that the trial has been adjourned until April 12 to give the prosecution more time to gather evidence.

Lawyers representing the men maintain that there are no legal grounds for the blasphemy charges and are optimistic that the case will eventually be dismissed, CSW said.

CSW National Director, Stuart Windsor, urged the Iranian government to ensure that the men receive due process and are acquitted of all charges that have no legal bearing under Iranian law.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has learned that eleven members of an evangelical denomination, who were charged with action against the order of the country and drinking alcohol, have been acquitted by an Iranian court. The charges referred to their involvement in a house church meeting and to taking communion wine.

In a written verdict issued in mid-May, the court ruled that since the eleven claimed to be conducting a Christian ceremony, their activities were covered by Article 13 of the Iranian Constitution, which allows Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians to perform perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education.

The judge added that the case involved a religious ceremony, thus there was no evidence to sustain the charge that they had been acting against the national security or the order of the country. The local authorities have 20 days in which to appeal the acquittal.

Six other members of the Church of Iran, based in Shiraz, are still awaiting the outcome of a consultation on their case. They are charged with blasphemy. After struggling to find evidence to convict them, the case was adjourned to allow time for the prosecution to seek the opinion of Iran's traditional churches concerning the validity of the charge. Another member of the Church of Iran, Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, is also still awaiting a date for his appeal against a death sentence for apostasy.

Iran's Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence of a Christian pastor for leaving Islam. He was reported to have been given a choice on Saturday, July 2, to repudiate his faith in Christ or be executed.

Yousef Nadarkhani, 33, had appealed to the Supreme Court after he was sentenced to death in 2010 on charges of apostasy, or abandoning Islam, by the Revolutionary Tribunal of Iran's Gilan Province.

The advocacy group Middle East Concern, which has closely followed the case, said his lawyers have yet to receive written confirmation of the Supreme Court's ruling, but understand that the [death] sentence could be implemented at any time, unless he recants his Christian faith.

Update: Overturned

4th July 2011.  See article from uk.news.yahoo.com

Iran's supreme court has overturned a death sentence handed down to Yusef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor accused of apostasy for having converted from Islam, his lawyer told AFP on Sunday.

The supreme court has annuled the death sentence and sent the case back to the court in Rasht (his hometown), asking the accused to repent, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah said.

Dadkhah said he himself was sentenced on Sunday by a Tehran court to nine years in jail and a 10-year ban on practicing law or teaching at university for actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime. The lawyer said he had been criticised for having cooperated with the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights, an organisation founded by Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, as well as for giving interviews to foreign radio stations: I have 20 days to lodge an appeal.

Update: Unconfirmed

6th July 2011.  See article from christiantoday.com

Christian Solidarity Worldwide says doubts have been raised over reports that the death penalty has been overturned for an Iranian pastor.

The Agence France-Presse reported on Sunday that Iran's supreme court had decided to annul Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani's death sentence for apostasy.

CSW said Christians in Iran had challenged the report. The organisation stated that there had still been no written confirmation of the court's decision on Nadarkhani's appeal and that this was due to be given to his lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, next week.

Update: Death Sentence Confirmed

14th July 2011. See article from bosnewslife.com

Iran's Supreme Court says Iranian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani can be executed if he does not recant his faith in Christ, according to a written verdict released by rights activists.

The Supreme Court also asked a lower court in the pastor's home town of Rasht, which issued the original death sentence, to re-examine some procedural flaws in the case but has given local judges a free hand to decide whether to release, execute or retry Nadarkhani in October, said advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide, which obtained the verdict.

His release or retrial is not expected however as the lower court already ruled that Pastor Nadarkhani must be executed by hanging.

His lawyer, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, a prominent Iranian human rights defender is also facing legal difficulties. On Sunday July 3 a court in Tehran sentenced him to nine years in jail and a 10-year ban on practicing law or teaching at university for actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime. He is currently appealing the sentence.

Last week, five Iranian Christians were sentenced to a total of five years in prison despite the fact that they were exonerated of all charges by a lower court. They were retried because the prosecutor had objected to the initial verdicts.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the Appeals Court of Fars Province has handed down a one year prison term for Behroz Sadeq Khanjani, Mohammad Belyad, Nazli Kamarian, Parviz Khalaj and Mehdi Forotan.

Mathias Hagh-Nejad who was recently released on a bail approximately equivalent to $28,000 confirmed the verdicts against these individuals and said he and two others were awaiting trial on similar charges.

It appears that Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani will avoid the hangman in Iran for the time being.

Nadarkhani, once the leader of a 400-person congregation in Rasht, was previously convicted of apostasy.

But Iran now claims that the death penalty reports that circulated around the world last week were unsubstantiated. Gilan Province Judiciary Chief Mohammad-Javad Heshmati said, according to Iran state news agency Press TV: There has been no execution order. No conviction at all has been issued yet and it is up to the court to finally decide the verdict after studying his case.

Since news of Nadarkhani's looming execution spread worldwide, Iran has suddenly started claiming that the pastor was a convicted rapist and extortionist, and the Fars News Agency said over the weekend that Nadarkhani was to be executed for Zionism and threats to national security.

But Nadarkhani was first arrested in 2009 and until Monday, the government had only mentioned the apostasy charge for years, at least according to the court documents that have been released.

The disappearance of the death penalty may be an indication that Iran, wary of more poor press, bowed to international pressure. Last week, a number of world leaders condemned the execution -- The White House, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, the Bishop of Canterbury and the European Union all issued harsh statements to Iran.

Update: Retrial

12th October 2011. See article from foxnews.com

Iran's Supreme Court has ordered a retrial for a pastor sentenced to death for refusing to renounce his Christian beliefs. State media reported that the high court sent the case back to lower court because of concerns about the initial investigation.

Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 and later sentenced to death for converting to Christianity.

The case reportedly had been referred to Iran's supreme leader, a move some say shows the Islamic republic is feeling pressure in the face of growing international support.

Nadarkhani's attorney, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, told AFP that an Iranian court has decided to seek the opinion of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's spiritual leader and highest authority.

A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team.

Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.

It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.

The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith, said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).

Pastor Terry Jones has once again threatened to burn Qurans, this time in protest of Iran's continued imprisonment of Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.

The Florida minister and his organization are calling for supporters worldwide to burn copies of the Islamic holy book and images of the faith's founder Muhammad.

The controversial pastor plans to carry out his own torching this Saturday, April 28 at 5 p.m. ET in front of his church, Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida.

Jones told The Christian Post that the service will be roughly an hour long, during which he will speak on the last 1,400 years of Islamic persecution of Christians, believers, nonbelievers, homosexuals, and women. We'll be dealing with the injustice that has gone on, and continues to go on, under Islam.

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who has been imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith since Oct. 2009, represents all of the death and destruction caused by Islam, and the apathy and the lack of us really doing anything. Of course if our government would put pressure on Iran, we could do more, [as well as] with the help of the United Nations, Jones said.

Jones told The Christian Post that the ideal outcome of Saturday's book burning would be Iran freeing Nadarkhani before the torching of the books could actually occur.