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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Baby born in prison, mother sentenced to death

85 replies

gelati3 · 28/05/2014 00:54

I have posted about the case of Meriam but due to lack of response and on advice of a Mumsnetter, have changed heading. Thank you to all those who replied to my initial response and took action.

The latest update on the CSW website is-

"Imprisoned Sudanese Christian Meriam Yahia Ibrahim has given birth to a baby girl five days early.

According to local sources, Mrs Ibrahim’s husband Daniel Wani has yet to be granted permission to see his wife and newborn daughter, who are currently incarcerated in Omdurman Federal Women's Prison along with his 20 month-old son Martin, but has been informed that both mother and baby are well.

On 22 May, Meriam Yahia Ibrahim’s lawyers lodged an appeal against the Public Order Court’s decision on 11 May to sentence Mrs Ibrahim to death for apostasy and 100 lashes for adultery.

Mrs Ibrahim was charged and sentenced for adultery and apostasy under articles 146 and 126 of Sudan’s Penal Code respectively. The Public Order Court in El Haj Yousif Khartoum, Sudan, chaired by Judge Abbas Khalifa, confirmed the sentence on 15 May, after Mrs Ibrahim refused to renounce her faith.

Mrs Ibrahim was born in western Sudan to a Sudanese Muslim father and an Ethiopian Orthodox mother. Her father left the family when she was six years old and she was subsequently brought up as a Christian by her mother. The case against Mrs Ibrahim began after Sudanese authorities were made aware of her marriage to Daniel Wani, a Christian with dual American and Sudanese citizenship. Morning Star news reported that Mrs Ibrahim testified before the court on 4 March that she is a life-long Christian, producing her marriage certificate, where she is classified as Christian, as evidence. Three potential witnesses from western Sudan who went to court to testify of Mrs Ibrahim’s lifelong adherence to Christianity were prevented from giving evidence.

CSW Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas says “We are pleased to hear that Mrs Ibrahim and her baby are reportedly in good health; however, we urge the authorities to ensure that Mrs Ibrahim’s husband and lawyers are granted access to see them, and that they are guaranteed medical attention. CSW continues to call upon the Sudanese authorities to annul the inhumane and unwarranted sentence given to Meriam Ibrahim, and to release her and her young children immediately. The charges against her are a violation of her right to freedom of religion or belief, guaranteed under Sudan’s interim constitution and in the covenants to which Sudan is party.”

Can you even begin to imagine that it would be like to be in that situation? Knowing that once your baby is 2 years old, you will be executed and you won't be there for her and your older son? Please, please help. It will take only a couple of minutes to e-mail the Sudanese Embassy via CSW. Alternatively, you can take action through Amnesty International or sign the petition on the Change.org website.

OP posts:
Spero · 29/05/2014 09:43

Not only that, but surely it must be an utter perversion of Islam? Surely no God could ever demand someone was killed for these reasons?

I wish prominent leaders in the Islamic faith would rise up and say very clearly that this is NOT Islamic behaviour. Maybe they are and its not being reported. I am not aware of any such condemnation.

gelati3 · 29/05/2014 10:11

Spero, I understand that apostasy is a crime punishable by death under Islamic law (not just in Sudan). (It's not the only "crime" punishable by death under Islamic law- e.g women are stoned for adultery) Anyone reading this, please correct me if I am wrong.

OP posts:
Spero · 29/05/2014 10:18

I was told that sharia law is a man made construct and not the words of God?

If this is the will of anyone's god, then I don't think that god is worth following.

MrsStatham · 29/05/2014 14:02

Matthew Syed is well worth reading in The Times today, if you can access the digital edition. Also Allison Pearson in The Telegraph.

Daisymasie · 29/05/2014 14:06

Signed. That is appalling.

gelati3 · 30/05/2014 20:02

Thank you MrsStatham, interesting reading. Thank you for signing Daisymasie.

I was reading that Meriam is a Doctor. Wonder if being an educated woman is unofficially considered a crime in Sudan?

OP posts:
Ronmione · 31/05/2014 18:36

Apparently they Sudanese government have done a u turn and are going to free meriam

Ronmione · 31/05/2014 18:38

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2644796/Sudanese-woman-facing-barbaric-death-sentence-marrying-Christian-FREED-U-turn-authorities.html

It's a daily mail link, but it's all I could find. Hopefully
It's true

gelati3 · 31/05/2014 18:48

Thanks Ronmione, hope its true.

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Mckayz · 31/05/2014 18:52

It's on the BBC website too. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27651483

Animation · 31/05/2014 19:00

Great news!!
Bless her heart.

Nancy66 · 31/05/2014 19:02

that's fantastic. Just shows the power of protest and international pressure.

SoonToBeSix · 31/05/2014 19:59

That's brilliant news!

gelati3 · 31/05/2014 20:12

Hope it's true but we shouldn't rest until she is actually out of prison. Sudan Government might just be saying this to get the matter out of the international spotlight. Was reading that one of the punishments in Sudan for apostasy is crucifixion- does anyone know if that is true?

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thegreylady · 31/05/2014 20:15

Thank goodness she is going to be free. Sudan must not have expected the weight of international condemnation.

chinam · 31/05/2014 20:24

Thank God that this woman is to be set free. She and her family have been constantly on my mind. Gelati is right though, we do need to keep the pressure on until there is definite proof she has been released.

TheUnburnt · 31/05/2014 20:41

I don't believe they'll set her free, I really hope I'm wrong. Why, why can we go to war over fucking make believe weapons of mass destruction or oil but when it comes to human life especially female human life it's not important? I am so against war but when it comes to situations like this I really believe there are some things we should go to war for!

gelati3 · 31/05/2014 23:59

TheUnburnt, I too am concerned that Meriam will not be released. It's important that we all do what to keep this case in the spotlight until we know she is released and her two children go with her (and not taken away from their parents, as would happen if she was to be executed). Let's also support the organisations who bring these awful cases to our attention and are the voice of the victims.

OP posts:
Ronmione · 01/06/2014 00:16

I somehow doubt that she will be set free, and if she is I wonder whether she would be left only or harassed by officials

gelati3 · 01/06/2014 00:36

That concerns me too Ronmione, seems that there's a lot of hardliners in Sudan. I understand that her husband has American citizenship and pray that they can move to America (or UK).

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PhaedraIsMyName · 01/06/2014 00:42

gelati do you why she was in Sudan rather than US? Is her husband in the US?

Thumbwitch · 01/06/2014 02:04

I'm concerned for her safety now, actually. I worry that she might meet with some "accident" in jail prior to her release. :(

The US may not have allowed her in - they certainly weren't prepared to do anything for her as she's not a US citizen.

gelati3 · 01/06/2014 08:57

PhaedraIsmyName, I don't know why she is in Sudan, although it may just be that it is her home (I assume she was also working there as she is a doctor) and she did not expect anything like this to happen to her. Her husband is in Sudan and visits her and her children in prison every day.

OP posts:
Spero · 01/06/2014 09:20

I have also wondered about the lack of reaction from the US, especially when you see how. Michelle Obama was prepared to advocate for the kidnapped Nigerian school girls. I hope it doesn't mean anything bad for her.

JugglingFromHereToThere · 01/06/2014 09:41

One other thought on this is that she's sadly caught between two cultures ....
Sudanese culture thinks she should be muslim because her father was, though he left the family when she was 6 and she was then brought up as a christian by her mother.
US consul, so I've heard, cannot help because though her husband is a US citizen she isn't herself.

So one culture being much more patriarchal than the other in it's view of women, and Meriam tragically caught between the two.