WUNRN
Sudan - Pregnant Woman Could Be Executed
for ‘Apostasy,’ Whipped for ‘Adultery’
Christian pregnant woman accused of converting from Islam
because her father was Muslim.
April 28, 2014
-JUBA, (Morning Star News) – A pregnant woman in
Meriam
Yahia Ibrahim, 27, and her Christian husband also have a toddler son. As
marriage to a Christian man is prohibited for a Muslim woman in
“We are fighting for Meriam’s life, freedom, and fair treatment – according to the law, if she had been a Muslim she should be killed soon after she gives birth to her child,” said the rights worker, whose identity was withheld for security reasons.
Married to a South Sudanese Christian who obtained U.S. citizenship several years ago, Ibrahim’s nightmare has included denial of bail, insufficient medical care for both her and her unborn child, beatings in prison and a U.S. Embassy that has offered little help, sources said.
“Meriam
needs treatment every month to keep the unborn baby still in the mother’s womb,
but no medical help has been allowed,” her husband, Daniel Wani, reported to
Their 20-month-old son, Martin Wani, is staying in prison with his mother, as Sudanese authorities have prohibited the boy’s father from caring for him because he is a Christian. Ibrahim has been incarcerated since February.
Rights workers
are trying to pressure the government to give Ibrahim, a medical doctor who
graduated from
Accusing Wani of converting a Muslim woman to another religion and marrying her – although Sudanese law does not explicitly ban proselytism – authorities have taken Wani’s passport and forbidden him to travel.
The couple also faces cancellation of their marriage, rights workers said.
“According to Islamic laws, if a Muslim woman gets married to a non-Muslim man, then their marriage is not acknowledged legally,” one rights worker said. “She is then committing adultery, and her children are not recognized by law as children of legal marriage. That is why she is facing the charges.”
Ibrahim
was born in a small town in western
When
life became hard for her and her mother, they decided to move to
Ibrahim
progressed in school and graduated from the prestigious
Last year someone who said he was a relative of Ibrahim opened a case against them in Halat Kuku Court of Khartoum North for alleged “adultery” under article 146 of the Sudan Criminal Code because of her marriage to a Christian, rights workers said. Wani was accused of proselytizing a Muslim, and eventually authorities added the apostasy charge to Ibrahim.
Three witnesses
from western
“I am a
Christian,” Ibrahim told the court in
Though
no one has been executed for apostasy in
While
in jail Ibrahim has been abused physically and emotionally, according to
her husband. Muslim scholars have been visiting her, telling her to “turn back”
to the religion of her father, but she has refused, he said.
One of the prison guards, Kawther Hassen, has mistreated Ibrahim and not allowed visitations or medical help. Her husband told Morning Star News that that a Muslim woman in the jail has incited other Muslims to make life difficult for Ibrahim.
“She is
psychologically tired,” Wani said. “My wife was never a Muslim. As an American citizen,
I ask the people and government of the
The
couple’s toddler boy is a
“I will
have to take a DNA sample in
Wani
told Morning Star News that when he called the U.S. Embassy on April 9, a representative
in
“I have
tried to apply for papers to travel to the
U.S. Embassy personnel declined to speak about the matter to Morning Star News.
At a
hearing for Ibrahim on April 18, the court requested more witnesses to testify
that she never practiced Islam, according to attorneys. Wani said those wishing
to help can contact