On Friday, June 6, Christians of all kinds and humanitarians from other minority groups met outside the Sudanese Embassy in London and demanded freedom and justice for Meriam Ibrahim.
Meriam is the Christian Sudanese doctor who was sentenced to death and to 100 lashes for alleged apostasy, that is converting from Islam to Christianity, and for adultery, that is marrying a man who is not a Muslim. This is despite Meriam being brought up by her mother as a Christian.
Refusal to renounce faith
Apparently Mrs Ibrahim counts as Muslim according to Sudanese law because her father was Muslim. Therefore law courts have ruled that her marriage is illegal.
Meriam has just given birth to a daughter in prison and has a two-year-old son by her husband, Daniel Wani. She has continually refused to renounce Christianity and her adherence to her faith has resulted in the court ruling that she must stay in prison for two years to nurse her baby. After this grace period she will then be executed. It is not known when the flogging is scheduled.
A petition was signed by all attendees at the vigil. However, despite his promise, the Sudanese ambassador failed to receive the petition, opting for it to be left at the reception area.
Delegation in Rome
‘We are here to express the deep concern of Italian evangelicals for the situation of Mrs Meriam Yehya and to ask for her immediate release.’ These words introduced the meeting between Lucia Stelluti and Leonardo De Chirico (of the Italian Evangelical Alliance) with the Sudanese Ambassador Amira Gornass in Rome on June 11.
The Italian EA had organized a prayer rally on May 24 in front of the Sudanese Embassy and sponsored a petition to free Meriam that was handed in to the Ambassador. De Chirico said that religious freedom is the mother of all liberties and is the basis for the flourishing of society. The Ambassador explained that Meriam’s case will go to another court of appeal hoping that the charge will be dropped.
