Meriam Ibrahim is married, eight months pregnant, and the mother of an 18-month-old; on Thursday she was sentenced to death in Sudan.
Her lawyer, Al-Shareef Ali al-Shareef Mohammed, told The Associated Press that Ibrahim, 26, was convicted Sunday of "apostasy" for not recanting her Christian faith. In Sudan, the conversion of Muslims to other religions is punishable by death. Ibrahim's father was Muslim, but her mother — who raised her alone after her father left the family — was an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia. Members of Ibrahim's father's family told authorities that she was born Muslim and given the name "Afdal" at birth; her lawyer says the document they produced to try to prove this is fake.
Ibrahim was given four days to renounce her religion, but refused. "I was never a Muslim," she said, according to the AP. "I was raised a Christian from the start."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The U.S. State Department is "deeply disturbed" by the sentencing, while Amnesty International calls it "abhorrent." Mohammed said the trial was flawed, and the judge refused to hear defense witnesses and ignored constitutional clauses on freedom of worship and equality. The judge also sentenced Ibrahim to 100 lashes for having sexual relations with her Christian husband, Daniel Wani, on the grounds that Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslims.
-
Nepal chooses toddler as its new ‘living goddess’Under the Radar Girls between two and four are typically chosen to live inside the temple as the Kumari – until puberty strikes
-
October 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailoutTalking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsionSpeed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deploymentSpeed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
