French Catholic Bishops Set Up National Canonical Penal Court

On December 5, the Conference of Bishops of France in a lengthy press release (full text in French) announced the creation of a National Canonical Penal Court.  According to National Catholic Reporter:

[The Bishops' statement] said the 20-member court, approved by the Vatican in September, would be tasked with judging "canonical offenses committed by clergy and laity" nationwide, such as acts of sacrilege, apostasy, schism, misuse of sacraments and teachings against the church's magisterium. The court aimed to "strengthen and harmonize" procedures formerly followed by diocesan and archdiocesan tribunals....

Establishment of the court, partly staffed by lay experts, was one of 45 recommendations by an Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church in its 2,500-page report released in October 2021.... 

However, while the new court would hear accusations involving adults, claims of sexual offenses by clergy against minors and canonical complaints against bishops would continue to be referred to the Vatican, the statement said.

The bishops' statement said church courts were "specific to the church's religious purposes," and complied with the country's 1905 church-state separation law.

Sudan Liberalizes Its Laws On Apostasy, Alcohol, Criminal Sanctions and Women's Rights

Al Jazeera reported earlier this week on important legal reforms being implemented in Sudan:

Sudan approved wide-ranging amendments to its criminal law including repealing the death penalty for apostasy as well as no longer requiring women to need a permit from male family members to travel with their children....

Public flogging will also be ended and the consumption of alcohol by non-Muslims will now be permitted. ...

The new laws will also ban female genital mutilation (FGM)....

New USCIRF Report on Apostasy, Blasphemy and Hate Speech Laws In Africa

Yesterday, he U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released a 50-page report titled Apostasy, Blasphemy, and Hate Speech Laws in Africa: Implications for Freedom of Religion or Belief (full text of report). The Executive Summary reads in part:

The freedoms of opinion and expression and of religion or belief are intricately intertwined—where violations occur against one, there are often violations against the other. Although these human rights are protected under articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), states around the world continue to pass and enforce laws that restrict both freedoms. This paper provides a survey and analysis of speech restrictions in Africa that have, or may, limit FoRB. Laws that restrict apostasy (the public renunciation of one’s religion), blasphemy (the insult of a religion or religious objects or places), and hate speech (generally encompassing communication that prejudices a particular group based on race, religion, ethnicity, or other factor) all limit freedom of expression. Such laws also have unique implications for citizens’ abilities to express and practice their faith. These laws are prevalent throughout Africa, where at least 9 countries have apostasy laws, at least 25 criminalize blasphemy, and at least 29 have laws against hate speech.

Saudi Court Reduces Sentence From Death To 8 Years and 800 Lashes In Apostasy Case

CNN reported yesterday that a court in Saudi Arabia has upheld the guilty verdict on a charge of apostasy that was handed down against Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh. However the court overturned the death sentence against him and instead sentenced him to eight years in prison and 800 lashes to be administered over 16 sessions.  As previously reported, originally Fayadh was sentenced to 800 lashes and four years in prison on charges that his 2008 Arabic poetry book “Instructions Within” was insulting to God and religion. Also on the basis of photos in his phone, he was charged with illicit relations with women. However apostasy charges against him were dismissed because the judge found he had repented.  Prosecutors appealed, seeking a harsher sentence, and the appeals court remanded for a new trial.  At that trial in November, a different judge concluded that Fayadh's repentance was not sufficient, and he was sentenced to death.

27 Sudanese Muslims Charged With Apostasy For Rejecting the Hadith

In Khartoum, Sudan, 27 defendants are on trial for apostasy.  According to Middle East Online and the Sudan Tribune, the charges under Sec. 126 of the Sudanese Criminal Code potentially carries a death sentence, but such a sentence is unlikely to be carried out.  The defendants are charged with preaching that only the Qur'an had religious authority, and rejecting the authority of the Hadith and of Sunnah.

On Retrial Saudi Court Sentences Poet To Death For Apostasy

The Star Daily Standard yesterday reported on a Nov. 17 judgment by a Saudi Arabian court that sentenced Palestinian artist Ashraf Fayadh to death for apostasy, apparently concluding he was spreading atheism.  In his original trial, he was sentenced to 800 lashes and four years in prison on charges that his 2008 Arabic poetry book “Instructions Within” was insulting to God and religion. Also on the basis of photos in his phone, he was charged with illicit relations with women. Prosecutors appealed, seeking a harsher sentence, and the appeals court remanded for a new trial.  At that trial he was sentenced to death. According to the Daily Standard report:

While judges in the initial trial also accepted Fayadh’s repentance for anything deemed offensive or insulting to religion in his book of poetry, judges in the retrial questioned whether repentance can nullify a proscribed punishment in a case involving “hadd”, which in Islam are specific crimes such as apostasy for which punishment is considered fixed. They also wrote that Fayadh’s repentance could only be accepted by the divine, and therefor they could not consider it when weighing the verdict.

It is likely the case will be appealed again.

Sudanese Appeals Court Overturns Apostasy Death Sentence of Christian Woman

In a case that has attracted widespread international attention, an appeals court in Sudan has ordered the release of Meriam Ibrahim who had been sentenced to death for apostasy. Mail Online reports that a Khartoun appeals court overturned the death sentence of the 27-year old woman who was charged with converting from Islam to Christianity.  Ibrahim's father was Muslim, but her mother was Christian and she was raised as a Christian. It is unclear whether Ibrahim's sentence of 100 lashes for adultery-- because of her marriage to her Christian husband-- also was reversed.  (See prior posting.) Ibrahim's lawyers will meet with U.S. Embassy officials today to discuss possible asylum for her in the United States. Her Christian husband is an American citizen.

Sudan Apostasy Case Draws U.S. Attention As Appeal Begins

Zegabi reports that in Khartoum, Sudan last week an Appeals Court hearing began in the case of 27-year old Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag who was sentenced to death last month for maintaining her Christian faith, as well as to 100 lashes for adultery. Ishag's's father was a Muslim; so she is considered Muslim under Sudan's personal status law and her marriage to her Christian husband is considered void. (See prior posting.)  Meanwhile the case is garnering extensive attention in the United States.  On June 12, a group of demonstrators representing 46 organizations held a protest outside the White House.  Among the protesters were Sen. Ted Cruz who later told Christian Post:

We need far more leadership speaking out for religious liberty of everyone. And especially for Christians who are being targeted.... The reason this rally and protest is outside the White House is President Obama has to date failed to provide leadership on Meriam Ibrahim.

On the same day, Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement (full text) calling on Sudan to release Ms. Ishag and to repeal its laws that are inconsistent with its 2005 Interim Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Sudanese Woman Sentenced To Flogging and Death For Apostasy and Supposed Adultery

CNN reports that in Khartoum, Sudan this week, a court has sentenced  27-year old Meriam Yehya Ibrahim to death by hanging for apostasy and to 100 lashes for adultery after she refused to recant her Christian faith.  Ibrahim was born to a Sudanese Muslim father and an Ethiopian Orthodox mother. Her father left when she was 6 years old and she was raised by her mother as a Christian. She married, has a 20-month old son and is 8 months pregnant with their second child. However because her father was Muslim, under Sudanese personal status law (based on Sharia) Ibrahim is still considered Muslim, and her marriage to a non-Muslim man is considered void-- hence the adultery charge. Ibrahim is in custody with her 20-month old son.  The verdict can be appealed. Amnesty International has strongly protested the sentence.