Sudanese Woman Sentenced To Hanging For Religious Belief
Human rights activists and organizations the world over have been outraged by this Thursday's Khartoum court ruling that sentenced a pregnant Sudanese woman to death by hanging for refusing to renounce her Christian beliefs.
Meriam Yehya Ibrahim who is currently pregnant and also has a young son with a Christian male from South Sudan was found guilty of violating the Islamic sharia law. Besides being sentenced to death, the woman was also sentenced to flogging for having sexual relations with her husband as their marriage was not recognized by the Sudanese Islamic Courts.
Amnesty International member Manar Idriss said the court ruling is a “flagrant breach” of even the most elementary forms of human rights law. Prior to her death sentence, Meriam Yehya refused a court order that gave her a number of days to renounce her Christian faith.
Manar Idriss released a statement condemning the court’s decision and asking for the woman’s immediate release. He added that a death sentence based on a person’s religious choice is “appalling and abhorrent.”
The woman was charged after members of her own family reported her because of her marriage to a Christian. She is currently being jailed along with her son and will be allowed to give birth and raise her child until the age of 2 years but afterwards will have to face execution.