Apostasy wife’s escape further delayed

The Sudanese mother of two who had her death sentence for ‘apostasy’ reversed following international pressure but was rearrested when legally attempting to leave the country is now waiting “in a safe place” to see what happens in light of the latest allegation against her, that she forged travel documents, and still hopes to fly to the United States with her family.

Meriam Ibrahim and her husband, South Sudan-born American Daniel Wani, were freed from custody on Thursday after having been detained for two days upon arriving at the airport in Khartoum. They were trying to fly with their baby daughter, who was born in captivity, and their toddler son to the US. Now Ibrahim is charged with ‘presenting forged travel documents and giving false information’, Thabit El Zubeir Suleiman, one of her lawyers, said.

Meriam has described herself as feeling “terrorised” when the police officers took her and Wani, who is in a wheelchair, from the airport, and locked her “in a room for four to five hours”. She commented on the newest allegation against her: “My paperwork came from the embassy. It’s 100% correct and it was approved by the South Sudan ambassador and the American ambassador. It’s my right [… ] because my husband has a South Sudanese and an American passport.” She has been given a US visa.

“There’s a new problem every day about me leaving. Leaving is exactly what I want, not anything more.” Ibrahim told CNN that she is not scared despite her experiences so far. The Christian mother braved death by hanging as she refused to renounce her faith. And in prison, she received comments about her being a Christian or “non-believer”, “from both prisoners as officers”.

Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim, was raised by her Christian mother, after the father abandoned the family when she was six years old. Dudanese law dictates that children must follow their father’s religion. She married Wani, a Christian from South Sudan, in 2011. As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, though men are free to marry women of other faiths.