Apostasy in the penal code of Iran:

Apostasy
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:
Article 26 of the Press Code of 1985 expressly states: "Anybody who insults
Islam and its sanctities by means of the press, amounting to apostasy, shall receive the sentence
for apostasy..." However, the applicable IPC has not defined apostasy nor has it stipulated
any punishment for it. Nevertheless, Article 214 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which has
incorporated the provisions of Article 167 of the Constitution almost verbatim, has given
judges a free hand
45
. Thus, judges have invoked the said Article 214 to mete out the death
sentence in many apostasy cases on the basis of the views of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder
of the IRI
46
. In his book, Ayatollah Khomeini declares that only three groups of people are
recognised outside of Islam, who should pay a specific tax,
jazieh
, if they wish to live under
the Islamic rule: Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians. He expressly declares: "Nothing shall be
accepted from others outside of those three groups but Islam
or death
47

Source:International Federation for Human Rights