Court frees Sudanese woman sentenced to death

Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman from an Islamic background who was sentenced to death for marrying a Christian, has had her death sentence upturned.

Speaking with BBC, Meriam’s lawyer said she had already been released from jail.

The death-by-hanging conviction of the 27-year-old in May for apostasy — abandoning her father’s religion and refusing to renounce Christianity at the expiration of a deadline — sparked global condemnation that soon led to assurances that she would be freed.

Her marriage was dissolved by the Sudanese court, in addition to 100 lashes of the cane.

Meriam was pregnant at the time of the sentence; and after putting to bed, the initial news was that she would be allowed  expected to nurse the baby for two years before her execution would be effected.

Despite the sentence, Meriam maintained that she was never a Muslim as her father was, rather a Christian like her mother.

She promised never to give up Christianity in exchange for her life.

“I know my wife. She’s committed,” her husband, Daniel Wani, said back in May after the sentence, following series of pressure from Islamic leaders towards persuading her to change her mind.

“Even last week, they brought in sheikhs and she told them, ‘I’m pretty sure I’m not going to change my mind.'”