Atheists And Freethinkers Face Death Penalty, According to Study

This report spotlights the penalties for apostasy and being an atheist under Sharia law in 13 Muslim countries.  While Christians and Jews are marginally better off under Sharia as "people of the book", all other religions are held in the same contempt as atheists.

FROM JOBSNHIRE.COM:

Atheists And Freethinkers Face Death Penalty, According to Study

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), a global organization that unites atheists, agnostics, and other religious skeptics, released a study that shows 13 Muslim countries around the world mete out execution of non-believers of Islam, according to a Reuters report.

The Freethought Report 2013 covered all 193 U.N. member states and asked the expertise of lawyers and human rights experts to look into statutes, court records and media accounts to verify the situation of atheists and non-believers.

The study found that atheists and free thinkers are always subjected to discrimination and the worst that could happen to them is execution.

"This report shows that the overwhelming majority of countries fail to respect the rights of atheists and freethinkers although they have signed U.N agreements to treat all citizens equally," Sonja Eggerickx, IHEU President, told Reuters.

IHEU's study this year is more comprehensive. It brought to the fore a full list of countries where execution, usually public beheading, takes place. The study includes Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The list of countries in the study is higher compared to seven out of 60 countries surveyed last year. The study showed that the offenses that warranted public execution are blasphemy and apostasy, or when a believer renounces the faith or switches to another religion.

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