Human rights appeal by condemned Sudanese mother

Maryam Yahya Ibrahim, sentenced to death for apostasy, has appealed to the African Commission for Human Rights in a bid to secure her freedom after rumours that she would be released “within days” were denied by the government. Ibrahim (27) has been imprisoned in Khartoum’s twin city Omdurman since January on charges of abandoning the Muslim faith of her father, and of adultery, as the court does not recognise her legal Christian marriage. On 15 May, the judge ruled that she should be hanged for apostasy, even though the mother-of-two testified that she had been raised as a Christian, and therefore had not left Islam. “Sudan has ratified the African charter on human and people’s rights,” said El Sharif Ali Mohamed, one of the lawyers representing Ibrahim, and her South Sudanese husband Daniel Wani. “The charter states that apostasy is not a crime – so Sudan should never have brought this case in the first place.” Mohamed also announced that he has submitted an appeal to the court in Khartoum. However, the court on Monday said it had not received the appeal.Over the last few days conflicting reports in the British media were published about a potential release of the condemned woman, which was quickly denied by the Khartoum authorities. Her lawyers are hoping that the African Human Rights Commission, based in Gambia, will pressure President Omar Al Bashir to intervene, and overturn the sentence. The Commission was set up to “ensure protection of human and peoples’ rights” through what it terms a “friendly settlement of disputes”. File photo: Maryam Yahya Ibrahim with her son, and baby daughter, born on 27 May Related:Baby ‘ray of light’ for woman facing death in Sudan (30 May 2014) Sudan’s ambassadors summoned by UK, NL over woman’s death sentence (20 May 2014) Jailed child of convicted Sudanese mother might be US citizen (20 May 2014) EU calls for protection of religious freedom in Sudan (13 May 2014)