Written by Don Byrd
A horrifying story in Sudan may be nearing a positive end, if today’s reports are accurate. Meriam Ibrahim was sentenced to death for renouncing Islam – her mother raised her as a Christian and she recently married a Christian American citizen. After outcry from across the World, including a “fully engaged” U.S. State Department, she may be released soon.
The Christian Science Monitor reports:
“The related authorities in the country are working to release Mariam (Yahya Ibrahim), who was sentenced to death for apostasy, through legal measures,” Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Abdelah Al-Azrak told Reuters.
“I expect her to be released soon,” he added.
The government in Sudan came under intense pressure from British Prime Minister David Cameron, who called her treatment and sentence “barbaric.” The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, emphasized that the “right to freedom of religion” is “enshrined in international human rights law as well as Sudan’s own… Constitution.”
The right to embrace or deny a particular faith is central to religious freedom. That some countries continue to issue penalties of any kind, much less a death penalty, for exercising one’s conscience is outrageous. More international pressure, please. It seems to have worked in this case.
[UPDATE: Apparently, Ibrahim will not be freed after all. The Guardian reports: “Sudan has denied a Christian woman sentenced to hang for apostasy would be freed soon, saying quotes attributed to a foreign ministry official had been taken out of context.”]
