International condemnation has compelled Sudanese authorities to intervene in what could be the release Meriam Ibrahim, the Christian mother who was pregnant when she was arrested and sentenced to death for apostasy.
The BBC is reporting that the shocking story of the arrest of a pregnant Christian woman on a trumped up apostasy charge may soon come to an end. Meriam Ibrahim, who has since given birth while in shackles in prison, is expected to be released at any time.
Abdullahi Alzareg, an under-secretary at the foreign ministry, told the BBC that Sudan guarantees religious freedom and was committed to protecting the woman.
However, the government has since backtracked by saying her release would have to come through an appeals court process, which could take months.
Ibrahim was sentenced to death by an Islamic Sharia Judge after she refused to renounce her Christian faith and convert to Islam. Even though she was raised Christian, her father was a Muslim, which made her a Muslim according to the Islamic legal system. She then married a Christian man which, according to Islamic law, made her guilty of adultery. Her punishment was 100 lashes for adultery followed by death by hanging.
“If they want to execute me then they should go ahead and do it because I’m not going to change my faith,” Ibrahim said at the time of her conviction. “I refuse to change. I am not giving up Christianity just so that I can live. I know I could stay alive by becoming a Muslim and I would be able to look after our family, but I need to be true to myself.”
Her husband, Daniel Wani, said his wife didn’t flinch when her death sentence was announced, even though he was devastated.
“My wife is very, very strong,” Wani said. “She is stronger than me. When they sentenced her to death I broke down and tears were streaming down my eyes. Our lawyers were passing me tissues. But she stayed strong. She did not flinch when she was sentenced. It was amazing to see, particularly because she is the one facing the death penalty.”
Since then, she has been housed at the Omdurman Federal Women’s Prison in North Khartoum, Sudan which is notorious for its inhumane conditions. And it was here that she gave birth to their daughter just a week ago.
Meanwhile, nearly 30,000 people have signed a White House petition asking President Obama to grant Ibrahim safe haven in the United States.
“We are encouraged by reports that Meriam and her two small children may be released from a prison that is notorious for torture and its high infant mortality rate,” said Family Research Council (FRC) president Tony Perkins.
Because her husband and two children are American, the FRC is calling upon the government to grant asylum to Meriam because if she is just released back into Sudanese society, her life could be in danger.
“Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) that he wasn’t sure he knew about her case but promised to look into the possibility of granting safe haven in the United States. Since then, he has said nothing more publicly,” Perkins reports.
“The Obama administration should grant immediate refugee status to Meriam and her children so that they will have the option of finding safe haven in the United States. Family Research Council joins thousands of Americans in demanding President Obama offer a safe haven to this suffering American family.”
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