Sudan’s ambassadors summoned by UK, NL over woman’s death sentence

The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have summoned the Sudanese ambassadors regarding Khartoum’s death sentence against a Sudanese woman, accused of ‘apostasy’ under Article 126 of the Sudanese Criminal Law. “Freedom of religion and belief is a universal human right,” the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Frans Timmermans, said on Monday evening. “Sudan has its own constitution, and signed a UN convention, in which this is enshrined.” In his meeting with the Sudanese ambassador, he will urge the Sudanese government to take up its responsibilities. The Foreign Secretary in the UK also summoned the Chargé d’Affaires at the Sudanese Embassy, Bukhari Afandi, to meet Political Director Simon Gass. Gass expressed deep concern at the recent decision to sentence Maryam Yahya Ibrahim to death for ‘apostasy’, for professing Christianity after having been born of a Muslim father. He asked the Chargé to urge his government to uphold its international obligations on freedom of religion or belief, and to do all it can to get this decision overturned.The UK Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, last week: “I am truly appalled that a Sudanese court has sentenced Ibrahim to death for apostasy. This barbaric sentence highlights the stark divide between the practices of the Sudanese courts and the country’s International Human Rights obligations.”The detained Ibrahim, pregnant of her second child, is also charged with ‘adultery’ under Article 146 for having relations with her Christian husband. A marriage of a Muslim woman to a Christian man is considered a violation of the Islamic law. File photo Related: 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)