Christian convert said to have left Afghanistan

KABUL, Mar 29 (Reuters) An Afghan Christian convert who had faced the death penalty for abandoning Islam has left Afghanistan, a diplomat said today.

''He is not here, he is not in Afghanistan,'' said the official who declined to be identified.

The official said he had no details of the departure of the convert, 40-year-old Abdur Rahman. Italy offered him asylum today.

Rahman was jailed this month for abandoning Islam and could have faced trial under Islamic sharia law that stipulates death as punishment for apostasy.

Reuters KD DB2132