Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman sentenced to death for apostasy, is to be freed in a few days, a senior Sudanese official has said. But her lawyers say they will not believe it until they see her walk out of prison
The Sudanese
woman sentenced to death for apostasy, and to 100 lashes for adultery,
will be freed in a few days, a senior official has claimed.
Meriam Ibrahim, 27, has been in prison since January on charges of abandoning
Islam. On May 15 she was sentenced to death for refusing to recant her
Christian beliefs, and on Tuesday she gave birth to a daughter while she was
in prison, and with her legs shackled.
Calls to overturn the sentence, first reported in The Telegraph on the
day that Judge Abbas Khalifa handed down his ruling, has mushroomed into a
global campaign. David Cameron, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton have all asked
the Sudanese authorities to quash the "barbaric" decision.
Ms Ibrahim appealed against the sentence on May 22, and is awaiting a verdict.
Now it appears that the government in Khartoum has reversed the sentence.
A senior official from the foreign ministry told the BBC that the punnishment
would not be carried out.
Abdullahi Alzareg, an under-secretary at the foreign ministry, said Sudan guaranteed religious freedom and was committed to protecting her.
Lawyers for Ms Ibrahim and her husband, Daniel Wani, however, expressed scepticism that she would be released so quickly.
"It's to silence the international media," said Elshareef Ali Mohammed. "This is what the government do.
"We will not believe that she is being freed until she walks out of the prison.
"If they were to release her, the announcement would come from the appeal court, and not from the ministry of foreign affairs.
"But at least it shows our campaign to free Meriam is rattling them," he said. "We must keep up the pressure."
Abdullahi Alzareg, an under-secretary at the foreign ministry, said Sudan guaranteed religious freedom and was committed to protecting her.
Lawyers for Ms Ibrahim and her husband, Daniel Wani, however, expressed scepticism that she would be released so quickly.
"It's to silence the international media," said Elshareef Ali Mohammed. "This is what the government do.
"We will not believe that she is being freed until she walks out of the prison.
"If they were to release her, the announcement would come from the appeal court, and not from the ministry of foreign affairs.
"But at least it shows our campaign to free Meriam is rattling them," he said. "We must keep up the pressure."
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου