#savemeriam

The Times Philip Willan in Rome and Jerome Starkey, Africa Correspondent

A Sudanese Christian who gave birth in chains after being sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her faith met the Pope today, hours after arriving in Italy at the end of a year-long ordeal.

Meriam Ibrahim gave an update this week on the status of her U.S. entry and her baby daughter, whom she initially feared would be disabled due to the condition of her birth.

Ibrahim told the Daily Mail that she feared that the strained delivery, in which she could not open her legs widely, may have physically damaged the baby.

She has since revealed that an initial doctor’s evaluation indicated that Maya was not injured during the birth. However, the baby is due to undergo an ultrasound in the coming weeks to confirm that she has full use of her legs. Ibrahim’s husband Daniel Wani has muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition that results in muscle wasting, and is confined to a wheelchair.

The family of four is living in the embassy library, awaiting legal clearance by the Sudanese government.

Ibrahim was accused of trying to leave the country using false documents, and it is unclear whether she faces criminal charges for that case. Also, her brother, Al Samani Al Hadi, has filed new charges against her. He is one of the family members that caused Ibrahim to be arrested after she married Wani.

Last week, Sudanese First Vice President Bakri Hassan Saleh and Foreign Minister Ali Karti told the Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lapo Pistelli, that “they were willing to cooperate to reach a positive and speedy solution to the case,” according to the Daily Mail.

Despite their ongoing struggles, Wani and Ibrahim expressed gratitude for the international outpouring of love and support that they have received.

The Times Jerome Starkey, Africa Correspondent

A Christian woman sentenced to be whipped and hanged for her faith is living at the American embassy in Khartoum after being released from jail, but has been barred from leaving Sudan.

The Times Jerome Starkey, Africa Correspondent

A Christian woman forced to give birth with her legs chained together in a Sudanese prison has revealed that her daughter Maya may struggle to walk as a result of her traumatic delivery.

Latest reports indicate that Meriam and her family are safe at the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. The U.S. State Department is working with the Sudanese government to get her paperwork cleared, charges related to travel documents dropped, and for safe passage to America.

Thank you for all your hard work to #savemeriam! Please continue to advocate, share, engage, and pray in the days to come so that we can truly #savemeriam and her family.

(Below: Briefing from State Department spokesperson Marie Harf on their efforts to help Meriam and her family.)

From Reuters:

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese authorities and U.S. officials in Khartoum are negotiating to allow a Sudanese woman, who married an American and was recently spared the death penalty for converting to Christianity, to leave Sudan, sources close to the case said.

Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, was detained at Khartoum airport on Tuesday, one day after an appeals court overturned a death sentence imposed on her for having converted from Islam to Christianity in order to marry her Christian American husband.

Her lawyer Mohaned Mostafa said Ibrahim, her husband and two children had all been staying at the U.S. embassy in Khartoum since her release, which was granted on the condition that Ibrahim remains in Sudan.

The Times Jerome Starkey, Africa Correspondent

A Christian woman who was condemned to death, acquitted and rearrested as she tried to flee Sudan, was released for a second time yesterday after a senior US diplomat apologised for issuing her with a visa.

She is Free, Again

News outlets (The Guardian and Christian Post) are now reporting that Meriam and her family have been released from police custody. Reports are that the US State Department has been working hard to secure Meriam's release and to bring them to the United States as soon as possible.

It appears that their arrest at the airport was the result of a kidnapping charge filed by a man claiming to be her brother (more on that below).

"Eman Abdul-Rahman, the lawyer for 27-year-old Meriam Ibrahim, said she had been released from a police station after foreign diplomats pressed the government to free her. She was detained along with her husband and two small children, one born behind bars, at Khartoum's airport on Tuesday while trying to leave the country with her family." - The Guardian, June 26, 9:04 am EST

Sudanese Diplomats Are Working With American Diplomats

Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council (whose petition we have been backing) reportedly met with the Sudanese Ambassador to America yesterday to discuss Meriam's situation and her safety.

"Perkins said that he felt the meeting at the embassy over the status of Ibrahim and her family went well.

"I met with him [Sudanese Ambassador to the United States Maowia Khalid] for about an hour. I think the ambassador is a very reasonable man, understands the issue here," said Perkins.

"From all indications, from what I have spoken to members and others who've been working on this, [Khalid] has been working very hard to see this matter resolved in a positive way." - Christian Post, June 26th, 9:44 am EST

The Man Who Claims To Be Her Brother: The Real Enemy

NBC and The Telegraph are reporting that Meriam and Daniel's arrest at the airport in Khartoum is the direct result of her supposed "brother" reporting to police that she had been 'kidnapped.' After her release from prison, this 'brother' was upset that he hadn't been notified of her release and when he heard that she had been picked up by her husband he immediately alerted authorities to prevent her 'kidnapping.'

"Ibrahim was re-arrested at the airport by agents from Sudan’s shadowy security service. She was transferred to police custody where her lawyer told NBC News she remained early Thursday.

Authorities said she had been stopped because her travel documents were illegitimate. But in an interview with a Sudanese newspaper, her brother claimed he tipped off police that she had been "kidnapped" by her husband who planned to take her to the U.S. against her will." - NBC News, June 26th, 8:16 am

This man named Al Samani Al Hadi Mohamed Abdullah has repeatedly claimed to be Meriam's brother. He is reportedly the one who filed the initial charges that led to her imprisonment, trial, and death sentence. He is the reason she gave birth to Maya in jail, in shackles. He has previously claimed that Daniel Wani (Meriam's husband) fed her 'potions' to convert her to Christianity.

Both Daniel and Meriam have stated publicly that they do not know this man nor is he Meriam's brother. Regardless of his relationship to Meriam his intentions are clearly stated in this interview with CNN from two days ago.

"...if she repents and returns to our Islamic faith and to the embraces of our family, then we are her family and she is ours. . . . But if she refuses she should be executed." - Al Samani Al Haid Abdullah

This man Al Samani Al Hadi poses the greatest threat to Meriam's safety and the safety of her family.