On April 13, 2023, the Internal Security Agency of Libya’s Government of National Unity, which replaced the Government of National Accord in 2021, arrested a number of individuals, including an American citizen, on charges of apostasy and conducting Christian missionary work in the country.
The arrests reportedly followed the detention of another American citizen — a teacher at a private school in Tripoli, Libya’s capital — the day before on charges of “inciting [his students] to renounce Islam and convert to Christianity.”
Multiple press reports indicated on April 16 that both Americans had been released and deported to Tunisia.
Additionally, the security authorities reportedly arrested and detained Libyan citizens in late March for converting to Christianity. If those Libyan individuals are found guilty of committing the crime of apostasy by converting from Islam to another religion, they will face the death penalty.
Applicable Libyan Legislation
There are two domestic laws prohibiting missionary work and religious conversion in Libya: the Penal Code of 1953, as amended, and Law No. 20 of 2016 amending Certain Provisions of the Penal Code.
Article 207 of the Libyan Penal Code criminalizes the act of missionary work by stating that any person who promotes theories or principles aimed at changing the fundamental principles of the constitution or the fundamental rules of the social structure is punishable by death.
Law No. 20 of 2016 amends article 291 of the Penal Code to make renouncing Islam in word or deed punishable by death. However, the amendment provides that the death penalty is to be dropped upon the repentance of the offender at any stage before the execution of the sentence.
The amended article also imposes the death penalty on any non-Muslim who publicly insults Islam.
Law No. 20 of 2016 was passed by the General National Congress in Tripoli and thus applies only to areas of Libya under the control of the Government of National Unity. It does not apply to areas in Libya that are under the control of the Government of National Stability, located in the city of Sirte in north central Libya.
Previous Apostasy Cases
The arrests carried out in March and April of this year were not the only cases where the Internal Security Agency of the Government of National Unity has charged individuals with the crime of apostasy for converting from Islam to Christianity. In September 2022, the Misrata Court of Appeal in the city of Misrata in northwest Libya sentenced a Libyan citizen to death for converting from Islam to Christianity.
Libyan Government Structure
Libya has suffered civil strife since the fall of Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011. In 2014 two different governments took control of eastern and western Libya. The Government of National Accord, which was recognized by the United Nations, controlled western Libya, its capital located in the city of Tripoli. In eastern Libya, Khalifa Haftar, a former general in the Libyan National Army, established a government allied with the Libyan House of Representatives in the city of Tobruk.
In February 2021, the Government of National Unity was created and headed by Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, replacing the Government of National Accord. In September 2021, Libya’s House of Representatives in Tobruk passed a no-confidence vote to remove the Government of National Unity. In February 2022, the Government of National Stability was created after the House of Representatives selected Fathi Bashagha as prime minister. Both General Haftar and the Libyan House of Representatives have endorsed the Government of National Stability, which has established the north central city of Sirte as its capital. However, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, the prime minister of the Government of National Unity in western Libya, has rejected the creation of the Government of National Stability and refuses to step down, saying he would relinquish power only after a national election.
George Sadek, Law Library of Congress
May 26, 2023
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