Refugee who fears fatwa in Guinea gets reprieve

Last week, we reported about Lamine Yansané, a Muslim convert from Guinea who is seeking to stay in Canada after his own father, an Muslim imam in his homeland, issued a call for his son’s death during his Friday prayers at the mosque in Boké.

The National Post reported today that a federal judge has granted him a temporary reprieve yesterday.  According to the paper:

Justice Michel Shore ordered Citizenship and Immigration Canada to conduct a new assessment of the risk Lamine Yansane faces if returned to Guinea, citing evidence that Mr. Yansane's father has issued a fatwa against him.

The federal immigration agent who last year dismissed Mr. Yansane's fears failed to conduct a reasonable evaluation of the situation, the judge concluded. "In his case, the change of religion, apostasy, is punishable by death," Mr. Shore wrote. "Mr. Yansane's father, in evidence that has not been contradicted, threatened his own son with death by a fatwa announced publicly during official prayers."  [read more….]

Mr. Yansane, who has a full-time job operating an overhead crane in a Montreal factory, told the Post that he is encouraged by the ruling. "I am very, very happy," he said. "It gives me great hope to be able to stay in Canada."

Please pray that this new assessment will be more thorough than the last one and that Mr. Yansane will able to stay in the country.  You can post a prayer on his behalf on our Persecuted Church Prayer Wall.