Is apostasy illegal in Eritrea?
Criminal offense
Leaving Islam for unrecognised religions leads to arrest and detention in Eritrea.
Eritrea is one of 9 countries classified “Criminal offense” for apostasy — 29% of the 31 with data. (Also searched as leaving a religion.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Apostasy in Islam by country
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Yemen
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is a crime in Yemen punishable by death under the Penal Code.
- Sudan
- Legal The death penalty for apostasy was scrapped in July 2020 during the transition to democracy.
- Saudi Arabia
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is actively enforced with the death penalty under Sharia law in Saudi Arabia.
- Somalia
- Death penalty possible The constitution declares Sharia the highest law, prescribing death for apostasy, though executions are often extrajudicial.
- Qatar
- Death penalty possible Apostasy is a hudud crime under Law 11 of 2004, punishable by death.
- Kuwait
- Criminal offense Apostasy is not explicitly criminalized but family courts can annul marriages and strip property and inheritance rights.
Other laws in Eritrea
- Holocaust Denial
- No specific law
- Conversion Therapy
- No ban
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.