Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death for Apostasy (renouncing Islam), has arrived safely in Italy following a long battle with the Sudanese government.
She arrived in Italy on Thursday night after finally being allowed to leave Sudan who’s courts dropped their case against her following international pressure calling for her release. They then accused her of having fake travel documents, arrested her again. Her journey to Italy was kept a secret, and at the time of take off she had no idea where she was going.
Her lawyer told the BBC that she was unhappy about leaving the country she grew up in, but knew she had to do so in order to keep herself and her family safe. She had recently received threats on her life from a group called Hamza who released a statement saying that they were going to kill her.
On arrival to Italy, Meriam, her husband Daniel and her 2 children including 2 month old Maya, who she gave birth to while she waited for news about her death sentence in prison, were met by Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who stated ‘this is a day for celebration.’
She then went on to meet Pope Francis at his residence at the Vatican, who thanked her for ‘her witness to the faith.’
In recent weeks, her father’s family have attempted to file a law suit against her, in order to get her marriage annulled, on the basis that a Muslim and a non-Muslim are not allowed to wed.
Although Meriam was sentenced for denouncing Islam and marrying a Christian because she was born to a Muslim father, she was bought up by a Christian mother after her father left.
In recent weeks, her father’s family have attempted to file a law suit against her, in order to get her marriage annulled, on the basis that a Muslim and a non-Muslim are not allowed to wed.
Meriam will continue her journey from Italy to the US, where her husband has citizenship.
