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 by a Sudanese Court, remains in Sudan after having been released from prison and acquitted of all charges. Now facing legal opposition to her release and acquittal, potential criminal charges for baseless accusations of forging documents and providing false information, and the states continued refusal to issue her and her children proper travel documentation to leave the country legally, Meriam and her family remain in the protection of the United States, fearful of the worst. Learn everything you need to know about Meriam’s case, and how you can help, here.
07/22/2014 Sudan (World Watch Monitor) – Conflicting reports have emerged regarding the current status of Sudan’s ‘death-row mother’ Meriam Ibrahim’s lack of freedom to leave Khartoum for a new life with her husband and children at his American home.
On July 17, Reuters reported that the lawsuit brought by Ibrahim’s Sudanese Muslim father was dropped. The lawyer handling the case said this move could allow her to depart for the United States; where her husband Daniel Wani is a dual U.S. citizen.
Then Sudan Tribune reported on July 18, that Ibrahim’s family filed another lawsuit, this time seeking to annul her marriage to her Christian husband Wani. This is a continued attempt to keep her from leaving Sudan, and an annulment of Wani and Ibrahim’s marriage would also mean the children would not be legally recognized as Wani’s children.
Early last week, Ibrahim’s family filed a lawsuit seeking to prove the biological link between Ibrahim and her Muslim father, but the suit was dropped without explanation by the family. A lawyer, Abdel Rahman Malek, acting on their behalf told Reuters news agency: ‘We are no longer proceeding with the lawsuit’, but declined to give any reason.
The first scheduled hearing of the case would have been Thursday July 17th at the Khartoum Family Court.
The US Department of State has told World Watch Monitor that “the Government of Sudan has assured us of the family’s continued safety. It went on to say in an email, “The Department of Homeland Security has informed us that Ms. Ishag [Meriam Ibrahim] and her children have all the documents they need to enter the United States as soon as the Government of Sudan allows them to exit the country.”
It was relatives of Meriam who originally accused her of adultery by marrying a Christian.
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