ICC Note:
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim, a 27-year-old mother of two and wife to an American citizen who was sentenced to death for her Christian faith in May, is facing a new legal battle launched Friday by her alleged family. After dropping a claim for her custody, Meriam’s alleged family filed a motion for the annulment of her marriage to Daniel Wani, a Christian with dual South Sudanese and United States citizenship. Likely another action to postpone Meriam and her family’s leave from the country, it remains unclear as to which court will hear the motion and whether it holds any real standing. Learn everything you need to know about Meriam’s case, and how you can help, here.
07/19/2014 Sudan (Christian Post) – Meriam Ibrahim’s family filed another lawsuit against her on Friday in a continued attempt to keep her from leaving Sudan.
The first lawsuit filed earlier this week sought to prove the biological link between Ibrahim and her Muslim father, but the suit was inexplicably dropped by the family. A new lawsuit now seeks to annul Ibrahim’s marriage to Christian U.S. citizen Daniel Wani.
Although she was raised by an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian mother, Ibrahim is considered Muslim under Sharia law because that is the faith of her estranged father. She was arrested in January for apostasy and sentenced to 100 lashes and death after her family filed charges against her.
The religious freedom case garnered international attention, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned her sentence. Britain’s foreign office called Ibrahim’s sentence “barbaric,” and urged Sudanese Charge d’Affaires Bukhari Afandi to overturn her conviction.
The United Nations also condemned her sentence, and tens of thousands of people signed petitions on BeHeardProject.com, GoPetition.com, and other activist websites.
The sentence was overturned on appeal on June 23.
