Sudan Says Woman’s Apostasy Death Sentence Dependent on Appeal

Sudan said the release of a Sudanese mother, whose death sentence for refusing to recant her Christian faith sparked global criticism, depends on the outcome of her legal appeal.

Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, 27, will only be freed if the court overturns its apostasy verdict, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday in a statement published by Suna, the state-run news agency. It said an undersecretary at the ministry cited by media as saying Ibrahim would be freed within days was quoted out of context.

Ibrahim, who gave birth to a daughter in prison last week, was sentenced to death by hanging on May 15 after refusing to recant her Christian faith in favor of Islam. The case has prompted an outcry from countries including the U.K. and U.S. and rights groups such as Amnesty International.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-06-02/sudan-says-woman-s-apostasy-death-sentence-dependent-on-appeal

A Sudanese woman sentenced to death for apostasy was freed today by a Khartoum court, and has rejoined her Christian husband with their two young children, her lawyer and state media said.

State news agency SUNA said the Court of Cassation threw out the death sentence against 27-year-old Meriam Ibrahim after defence lawyers presented their case. Her lawyer, Eman Abdul-Rahim, told The Associated Press that Ibrahim left prison and was with her husband. Her 18-month-old son, Martin, had been with her in jail, where she gave birth last month to a second child.

Ibrahim, 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 married a Christian man from southern Sudan in a church ceremony in 2011. As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, though Muslim men can marry outside their faith. By law, children must follow their father's religion.
http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/sudan-frees-woman-death-row-apostasy-6010988

A Sudanese woman whose death sentence for refusing to renounce her Christian faith was revoked has been rearrested, her legal team told CNN Tuesday.

Meriam Ibrahim, 27, and her husband, Daniel Wani, were arrested Tuesday at an airport in Sudan's capital as they were trying to leave the African country, Ibrahim's legal team said.

Details about why the couple were arrested weren't immediately available.

Ibrahim, 27, was convicted in May by a Sudanese court on charges of apostasy, or the renunciation of faith, and adultery - charges that led to international controversy. Ibrahim was eight months pregnant when she was sentenced to suffer 100 lashes and then be hanged - CNN

Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman sentenced to death for Apostasy, has finally been freed after she was re-arrested at Khartoume airport as she attempted to leave Sudan with her family to an undisclosed location.

U.S. State Department during a briefing with reporters in Washington D.C today said Meriam is now free, safe and secure but didn't make it clear if she'd left Sudan for the U.S, where she's expected to seek political asylum.

Sudanese officials later said they didn't arrest Meriam, that she was only detained over a “travel document issue” that was discovered at the airport but she's since been released and had boarded a flight out of Sudan today. Her whereabouts are currently unknown.