A Libyan Christian is sentenced to death

A young man embraced the faith four years ago. He lives in the west of the country, where militias have taken over the state due to a power vacuum and the previous government’s lack of control over much of Libya.

From the beginning of his Christianity, the young man has been rebuked, persecuted and extorted but he has never wanted to abandon Christ. Finally, after complaints were withdrawn, he has been sentenced to death. That is why the young Christian was forced to publicly declare the verdict outside the courtroom and then in his own home. He also had to report the sentence to a local newspaper and radio station so that the injustice would be known.

The instability of the Libyan government allows different parts of the country to interpret the same law in different ways. There are no laws in force that criminalize conversion to Christianity, according to the country’s central government. However, between 2012 and 2014, several states practiced the old laws, which punished apostasy with the death penalty, as in the case of the young Christian.

The lack of a strong government allows for arbitrary judgments that put the lives of Christians at risk. During the process, the young Christian was unable to contact a lawyer or receive any other form of defense.