Lay Low

Betcha he is going to have a hard time staying on the down low:

KABUL (AFP) - An Afghan Christian who avoided the death penalty after converting from Islam left Afghanistan for Italy where he has been granted asylum, the Italian embassy said.

"He has left and he is expected in Italy by tonight," an embassy official told AFP hours after Italy's cabinet offered Abdul Rahman asylum.

The official would not say exactly how and when Rahman, 41, had left Afghanistan.

Italy decided to offer him asylum at a cabinet meeting Wednesday, Labour Minister Roberto Maroni said in Rome.

"The decision has been taken. The matter has been resolved," he told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

The premier of Germany's Saarland state, Peter Mueller, had also said Rahman would be "warmly welcome," the German daily Die Welt reported.

Rahman was freed from jail in secret on Monday night but was kept under tight security at an undisclosed location after calls for him to be put to death in line with Islamic Sharia law.

He was arrested around a fortnight ago under Sharia, which says he should be sentenced to death unless he reverts to Islam.

And who uses 'fortnight' anymore?

CNN