Sudanese woman sentenced to death re-arrested

Vatican City, Jun 24, 2014

After having her death sentence for refusing to renounce her Christian faith revoked by a Sudanese court yesterday, Meriam Ibrahim has been re-arrested along with her husband at an airport.

According to the BBC, close to 40 security officers detained Ibrahim along with her husband, Daniel Wani - who is a U.S. citizen - and their two children Tuesday at an airport in Sudan’s capitol while attempting to leave the country.

Further details regarding the reasons why the couple were arrested have not been made available.

The arrest follows Ibrahim’s release from prison Monday after an appeals court dismissed her death sentence.

In May, the 27-year-old woman had been charged with abandoning Islam under Sudanese law. Because her father was a Muslim, Ibrahim was legally considered a Muslim even though her mother raised her as a Christian after her father left the family when she was 6 years old.

Despite pressure and multiple death threats, Ibrahim refused to renounce her Christian faith while in prison.

Her husband, Daniel Wani, told the BBC Monday that he was looking forward to seeing his wife and wanted his family to leave Sudan as soon as possible.

The couple's young son Martin has lived in prison with his mother since February. Ibrahim gave birth to their second child, a baby girl, while in prison in May.

Besides the crime of apostasy – or the abandoning of the Islamic faith – Ibrahim was also charged with adultery. Her marriage to her Christian husband was not considered valid since she was considered a Muslim.

She was to receive 100 lashes for the adultery charge and was sentenced to death by hanging for apostasy.