Sudanese woman sentenced to death for marriage to Christian escapes to U.S. embassy

A Sudanese woman who faced numerous death threats for refusing to renounce her Christian faith is safely in the U.S. Embassy, her husband reported on June 27.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, born and raised as a Christian, she married American Daniel Wani, but was given the death penalty due to charges of apostasy and adultery.

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The couple, with their two children, took refuge in the American embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. They were detained upon arriving at the airport previously, but were released two days later on June 26.

Her detention came after her legal team announced that the 27-year-old had been released from Sudanese prison due to the international outcry over her treatment and sentencing.

She now has a U.S. visa, and and was arrested in the capitol for attempting to get to the U.S.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf confirmed that Ibrahim had been released on bail. "She and her family are in a safe location, and the government of Sudan has assured us of the family's continued safety."

Harf did note that the embassy "remains highly engaged" in the case. "We will provide more information as it becomes available consistent with privacy laws."

This issue arose after one of Ibrahim's relatives, a Muslim, filed a criminal complaint saying her family was shocked to find out she had married an American and a Christian. The court considered her a Muslim because her father was one, though she denied that she was ever a practitioner of Islam.

She was charged with apostasy for renouncing Islam which is illegal, and adultery because a Muslim woman cannot marry a Christian man.

The international community took immediate notice.

Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Robert George, said "Our chief concern now is for [Mariam] and her family's safety, that they be freed, and for their human rights to be fully respected."

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