Mother who faced death for rejecting Islam is freed
THE Sudanese mother sentenced to death for marrying a Christian and renouncing Islam was in hiding last night after being freed from prison. Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was sentenced to be hanged last month in a case that sparked global outrage.
After widespread condemnation of her plight Dr Ibrahim, who said she was raised a Christian, was released yesterday after winning her case at the Court of Appeal in Khartoum.
Her legal team say she has been sent ‘ to an unknown house to stay at for her protection and security’.
Dr Ibrahim’s half-brother, who reported her to police, has already said she ‘should be executed’ if she continues to be a Christian. Lawyers for the mother of two – who married American Daniel Wani – are expected to meet US embassy officials in Sudan today to discuss a move to the US.
But they are concerned that the court ruling did not address the sentence of 100 lashes imposed on Dr Ibrahim for having sex outside a ‘lawful relationship’. Her marriage to a Christian was considered void under Islamic law.
The case provoked worldwide outrage. David Cameron described the treatment of Dr Ibrahim, who gave birth to a baby girl while shackled to the floor of a disease-ridden Sudanese jail, as ‘barbaric’ and former US secretary of state Hill ar y Cl i nton branded it ‘abhorrent’.