In February 2006, the homes of Afghan converts to Christianity were raided by police.Paul Marshall and Nina Shea (2011), Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy codes are choking freedom worldwide, Oxford University Press, The next month converts to Christianity were arrested and jailed. Abdul Rahman who had "lived outside Afghanistan for 16 years and is believed to have converted to Christianity during a stay in Germany", was charged with apostasy and threatened with the death penalty. His case sparked international protest from many Western countries. Charges against Abdul Rahman were dismissed on technical grounds of being "mentally unfit" (an exemption from execution under sharia law) to stand trial, by the Afghan court after intervention by the president Hamid Karzai. He was released and left the country after the Italian government offered him political asylum.
