A 27-year-old Sudanese woman, who is eight months pregnant with her second child, has been charged with apostasy (deserting religion) for marrying a Christian man. The woman, Mariam Yahya Ibrahim has been given a deadline of Thursday to abandon her Christian faith and return to Islam, or she faces a death sentence reports say.
A relative reported Ibrahim’s marriage to police authorities, and she was subsequently arrested for the crime of marrying a Christian, according to Sudan’s Public Order Criminal Code. The penalty for committing crimes of adultery and apostasy is 100 lashes and a death sentence respectively.
Because she was born in Sudan, Ibrahim is considered a Muslim by birth. Therefore, her marriage to Daniel Wani, a non-Muslim, is considered illegal.
In February, she was arrested with her 20-month old son, and sent to a women’s prison without a fair trial. Because her husband, Wani is a Christian, he is not allowed to take care of their child. As a result, the child has remained with Ibrahim in prison.
If convicted, she will be allowed to give birth to her baby before the death sentence is carried out.
The final ruling will be announced sometime later today.
