Western
Embassies have expressed deep concern for a Sudanese woman who has been
sentenced to death in Khartoum for ‘apostasy’ [converting to
Christianity] as well as to 100 lashes for committing
adultery.
Meriam
Yahia Ibrahim, who is 27-years-old and 8-months pregnant with her
second child, received her death sentence on May 11. Despite her claimed
faith in Jesus Christ, Sudanese authorities
are claiming that she is a Muslim by virtue of the fact that she was
born in Sudan.
Amnesty International reports
that she has been given until her next hearing on Thursday May 15 to renounce her Christian faith, otherwise
she is likely to be sentenced to flogging and death.
According to Justice Center Sudan,
she
was initially arrested and released on bail under suspicion of
committing adultery in September 2013. Her brother lodged the criminal
complaint against her,
claiming that she was Muslim and therefore illegally cohabiting with a
Christian man. It was later established that Ibrahim and her partner
were married, in a church in 2012, and that they even had a 20-month-old
son together.
On
May 11 the Criminal Court in Al-Haj Yousef (an area where many
Christians live in Khartoum) convicted Ibrahim of adultery,
after declaring her church marriage invalid on account of her Muslim
faith and upbringing. The evidence used in court was based on a number
of her family members’ accounts. The penalty for adultery under Article
146 of the Sudanese Penal Code is 100 lashes
for offenders who are not married.
Ibrahim
was raised as an Orthodox Christian in a small town located in Western
Sudan. A graduate of Khartoum University, she was a practising medical
doctor when she married her husband, a South
Sudanese Christian with US citizenship, Daniel Wani. Despite the Sudanese government’s refusal to recognise the couple’s marriage for Ibrahim;
the
adultery case which was opened against her husband was dropped on
account of his undisputed Christian faith. The court also confirmed that
he had married
Ibrahim in a church.
Their
first born child has been in prison with his mother since her arrest
because the authorities regard him as a Muslim and will not allow him to
be raised by his
father who is a Christian.
Ibrahim’s unborn child is expected next month. If her death sentence is
upheld her children’s custody would be granted to the government, as
the husband is not granted any rights over his children due to being a
Christian.
Justice
Center Sudan, a local human rights organization that is appealing
Ibrahim’s case on her behalf, said Ibrahim has been under pressure to
convert from Christianity to Islam with the promise
to reduce or eliminate the charges, but there are no confirmed reports
regarding her response.
This
case is unique to Sudan, as there are no other documented sentences
from Sudanese courts that are based on people of different faiths
coming together in marriage.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies
says
this case demonstrates “the internal contractions of Sudanese law and
its incompatibility with Sudan’s diverse population and international
commitments”.
Sudan
is ranked as the 11th most difficult country to be Christian of 50 countries to be ranked on the
2014 World Watch List.
Link to WWM report:
https://www.worldwatchmonitor.
The World Watch List is published annually by Open Doors International,
a charity that supports Christians who live under pressure because of their faith.
Courtesy:World Watch Monitor
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