Bolivia's President scraps penal code that criminalized evangelistic activities

Bolivian President Evo Morales has announced that his government has decided to revoke the penal code that would have imposed restrictions on evangelistic activities.

The penal code, which was approved on Dec. 15, had caused great concern among evangelical organization who believed that the wording of Article 88 criminalizes evangelism alongside terrorism.

The article in question stated that "whoever recruits, transports, deprives of freedom, or hosts people with the aim of recruiting them to take part in armed conflicts or religious or worship organizations will be penalized 5 to 12 years of imprisonment."

On Sunday, evangelical leaders held a national day of prayer and fasting to express their opposition to the law. That same day, the president announced that he will ask the Legislative Assembly to repeal the law following recent changes that included severe restrictions on religious freedom.

"We have decided to repeal the Criminal Code to avoid confusion and so the Right stops conspiring and doesn't have arguments to generate destabilization in the country, with disinformation and lies," the president tweeted, as translated by Christianity Today.

"We are going to listen to the proposals of all the sectors that observe the code. The National Government will never approve norms against the Bolivian people," he added.

Morales confirmed the announcement on state television, saying he does not want to keep using the penal code put in place by former dictator and president Hugo Banzer.

"I ask the assembly ... to rapidly advance a new code. I'm almost positive there will be a few changes and modifications to the articles," he declared.

The president contended that the new penal code was a copy of the Codes of Europe and United States.

The amendments to the code included the expansion of punishments for "recklessness, negligence, malpractice" in all careers, which prompted concerns from professionals such as doctors and journalists.

In one of his tweets, Morales lashed out at critics who denounced the law's crackdown on freedom of expression.

He pointed out that 1,050 new media companies and 4,833 new unions have been registered during his administration.

Several Christian groups spoke out against the amendments, including the Inter-American Federation of Christian Lawyers (FIAJC), which visited Bolivian embassies in several Latin American countries to deliver a public notice warning against the dangers of the new penal code to religious freedom.

The Religious Liberty Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance had issued a prayer alert asking its followers to pray that Morales' government would repeal the penal code provision and "protect and promote religious freedoms in Bolivia."

In addition, the National Association of Evangelicals in Bolivia (ANDEB) issued a public declaration saying the new code was "badly written," adding that its punitive power amounts to "state abuse."