Mariam Yahya Ibrahim
Mariam Yahya Ibrahim with husband Daniel Wani
Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, has been sentenced to death for converting to Christianity. Mrs Ibrahim is eight months pregnant and has been detained in Omdurman Federal Women’s Prison, north of Khartoum, with her 18-month-old son Martin, since February.
She was told on Sunday that she had three days to recant her faith or face death, but after appearing in court yesterday she refused, saying, “I am a Christian and I never committed apostasy.”
Judge Abbas al Khalifa addressed Mrs Ibrahim by her Muslim name Adraf Al-Hadi Mohammed Abdullah throughout, supposedly stated, “We gave you three days to recant but you insist on not returning to Islam. I sentence you to be hanged to death.”
She was also sentenced to 100 lashes for marrying a non-Muslim in 2011, which is viewed as adultery under Sudanese law. According to human rights organisation Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Mrs Ibrahim was born in western Sudan to a Muslim father and a Christian mother. Her father left when she was six, so her mother raised her as a Christian. Her husband, Daniel Wani, a Christian from southern Sudan has US citizenship.
They also added that added that three witnesses from western Sudan had travelled to the hearing to testify that Mrs Ibrahim had always been a Christian, but were prevented from giving evidence.
Western embassies such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands issued a joint statement before the sentencing expressing "deep concern" about the case and urging Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion. They urged in a joint statement that the government of Sudan should “respect the right to freedom of religion, including one’s right to change one’s faith or beliefs, a right which is enshrined in international human rights law as well as in Sudan’s own 2005 Interim Constitution.”
It is believed that the death sentence will not be enacted for two years after she has given birth, however that the punishment of 100 lashes could be carried out as soon as she has recovered from giving birth. Mrs Ibrahim’s lawyers are intending to launch an appeal, which could take several months.
Groups of protesters for both sides of the case were visible outside the court during the hearing. Around 50 people held up signs that read "Freedom of Religion", while some Islamists celebrated the ruling, chanting, "God is Greatest". If such a sentence is carried out, Mrs Ibrahim will become the first person to be executed for apostasy under the country’s 1991 penal code.