Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

Churches in Sudan, including the Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference, have condemned the death sentence handed to a Christian woman who refused to renounce her faith.

Meriam Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but whose mother was an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia, was convicted of apostasy by a court in Khartoum in mid-May for marrying a Christian.

In a joint statement, the Sudanese churches said the charges against Ibrahim are false. They appealed to the Sudanese government to free her from prison, according to the social communications department of AMECEA, the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Rights groups and Western governments also have condemned the sentencing of 27-year-old Ibrahim, who gave birth in late May, the BBC reported. It said she would be allowed to nurse her baby girl in prison for two years before the death penalty is carried out.

Her 1-year-old son already is in prison with her. Sudanese officials will not allow Ibrahim's husband, Daniel Wani, a U.S. citizen living in New Hampshire, to take custody of their son because, by law, a Christian man cannot raise a Muslim child.

Sudan's penal code criminalizes the conversion of Muslims to other religions, which is punishable by death.

AMECEA's May 23 statement said Wani claims his wife is Catholic, but the association could not confirm this.

In a May 23 letter to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the World Council of Churches called the ruling an "egregiously unjust punishment" that violates the fundamental principle of international human rights law "embodied in Sudan's own constitutional guarantees to all of its citizens."

The Sudanese court also convicted Ibrahim of adultery for her 2011 marriage to Wani and sentenced her to 100 lashes. She has reportedly been held in prison for more than three months.

 
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

In this interview, Cardinal Gracias speaks about the election of Leo XIV, his membership in Pope Francis’ council of cardinal advisors and why he considers Francis a saint.
Gerard O’ConnellMay 28, 2025
A Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinMay 28, 2025
Pope Leo XIV's offer to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine was motivated by a conviction that the two sides must start negotiating and stop the killing, the Vatican secretary of state said.
Rev. Paul Nicholson, S.J., begins his homily for the Ascension with a striking image from Medieval art: Jesus’ feet dangling in the air, his body swallowed by clouds.
PreachMay 27, 2025