Abdul Rahman

Abdul Rahman is an Afghan man whose arrest and trial in February 2006 sparked widespread controversy among the international community. Abdul Rahman had been arrested by Afghan authorities for apostasy and subsequently threatened with the death penalty. He had converted to Christianity from Islam while providing medical assistance to Afghan refugees in Peshawar, Pakistan. On 26 March 2006, under heavy pressure from foreign governments, the Afghan court returned his case to prosecutors, citing "investigative gaps"; Abdul Rahman was released from prison and remanded to his family on the night of 27 March. On 29 March, Abdul Rahman arrived in Italy after being offered asylum by the Italian government. Representatives within the Afghan government and many Afghan citizens continued to call for Abdul Rahman's execution, and his wife divorced him shortly after his conversion, leading to an unsuccessful custody battle for their two children.