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| Meriam Ibrahim: Sudanese apostasy woman freed from death row is re-arrested at airport... and then released again | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, the Christian woman sentenced to death and later freed after an international outcry, was briefly re-arrested while trying to leave the country for the US before being released again. | |
| Eman Abdul-Rahim, a lawyer representing Ms Ibrahim, said she had been held along with her two children and husband at the international airport in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. The BBC reported that Ms Ibrahim, whose death sentence in May for renouncing Islam sparked international outrage, was detained by around 40 security agents, but was then released again by Sudanese authorities. | |
| That came 24 hours after her husband, Daniel Wani, who has US citizenship, had said the family would go to the US after his wife was released. | That came 24 hours after her husband, Daniel Wani, who has US citizenship, had said the family would go to the US after his wife was released. |
| The 27-year-old, whose father was Muslim but who was raised by her Christian mother, was convicted of apostasy for marrying a Christian. Sudan’s penal code forbids Muslims from converting to other religions, a crime punishable by death. | The 27-year-old, whose father was Muslim but who was raised by her Christian mother, was convicted of apostasy for marrying a Christian. Sudan’s penal code forbids Muslims from converting to other religions, a crime punishable by death. |
| Ibrahim, who was pregnant at the time, was sentenced to flogging and to be hanged. She was arrested in February and gave birth to a daughter in prison with her legs chained not long after being sentenced. Her punishment drew international condemnation, with Amnesty International calling it “abhorrent” and the US State Department saying it was “deeply disturbed” by the sentence. | Ibrahim, who was pregnant at the time, was sentenced to flogging and to be hanged. She was arrested in February and gave birth to a daughter in prison with her legs chained not long after being sentenced. Her punishment drew international condemnation, with Amnesty International calling it “abhorrent” and the US State Department saying it was “deeply disturbed” by the sentence. |
| On Monday, however, Sudan’s Court of Cassation threw out Ibrahim’s death sentence and freed her after a presentation by her legal team. The Sudanese foreign ministry said it had come under “unprecedented” international pressure to free Ibrahim. The US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “Her case has rightly drawn the attention of the world and has been of deep concern to the United States government and many of our citizens and their representatives in Congress.” | On Monday, however, Sudan’s Court of Cassation threw out Ibrahim’s death sentence and freed her after a presentation by her legal team. The Sudanese foreign ministry said it had come under “unprecedented” international pressure to free Ibrahim. The US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “Her case has rightly drawn the attention of the world and has been of deep concern to the United States government and many of our citizens and their representatives in Congress.” |
| Sources said the family had been taken to the headquarters of one of Sudan’s security agencies after being arrested at Khartoum airport. Sudan introduced Islamic Sharia law in the early 1980s under the rule of autocrat Jaafar Nimeiri. A number of Sudanese have been convicted of apostasy in recent years, but they all escaped execution by recanting their new faith, something Ibrahim refused to do. | Sources said the family had been taken to the headquarters of one of Sudan’s security agencies after being arrested at Khartoum airport. Sudan introduced Islamic Sharia law in the early 1980s under the rule of autocrat Jaafar Nimeiri. A number of Sudanese have been convicted of apostasy in recent years, but they all escaped execution by recanting their new faith, something Ibrahim refused to do. |
| AP | AP |
| Meriam Ibrahim with her husband Daniel Wani (left), and two sons, after her release (Getty) | Meriam Ibrahim with her husband Daniel Wani (left), and two sons, after her release (Getty) |
| An Amnesty International campaign has followed Ms Ibrahim's story since it emerged last month, while a Change.org online petition has received more than 980,000 signatures | An Amnesty International campaign has followed Ms Ibrahim's story since it emerged last month, while a Change.org online petition has received more than 980,000 signatures |