Freed Sudanese woman re-arrested, freed again

Authorities in Sudan have re-arrested Meriam Ibrahim — the woman who was sentenced to death by hanging in May for apostasy but was freed on Monday.

On Monday, Meriam’s lawyer, Elshareef Ali, revealed the reversal of her death sentence and her release from prison, where she had been held since February for marrying a Christian and refusing to renounce the faith, to the chagrin of a section of her Islamic family.

Her release on Monday had been hailed as the much-desired end to global outrage generated by the murder sentence, while Elshareef described it as victory for the pursuit of religion.

But BBC reported on Tuesday that About 40 security agents detained Meriam, her husband, Daniel Wani, and their two sons at the Khartoun Airport, where they were bidding to travel to the United States.

Mariam had rebuffed all attempts to make her renounce her Christian faith, having chosen to practise her mother’s religion over her father’s, Islam — against Sudanese laws which considered her a Muslim.

“I am a Christian,” she told the judge at her sentencing back in May, “and I will remain a Christian.”

Meriam was subsequently released again on Tuesday evening, the Sudanese authorities claiming that the family of four was not “arrested” but only “briefly detained.

“They were temporarily detained for several hours over questions related to their documents,” BBC quoted Marie Harf, a spokeswoman for the US state department, as telling journalists.

Harf said the Sudanese government had assured the US of the safety of the Ibrahim family, and the US was working with Sudan to ensure their safe travel out of the north-eastern African country.

Photo credit: BBC