So, Is Meriam Ibrahim To Be Freed, Or Not?

There's confusion over whether Meriam Ibrahim will be freed in Sudan or not.

Meriam Ibrahim
Meriam Ibrahim

There's confusion over whether Meriam Ibrahim will be freed in Sudan or not.

There's confusion over reports that Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman given the dealth penalty for refusing to renounce Christianity, is to be freed in the next few days.

Over the weekend, foreign ministry under-secretary Abdullah Alazreg told the media that Meriam 'will be freed within days in line with legal procedure that will be taken by the judiciary and the ministry of justice.'

But any happiness was short-lived as the foreign ministry then released a statement saying that Alazreg's comments had been taken out of context. And, in actual fact, that the matter now rests with the courts as they decide whether to accept an appeal request made by her defence team.

'The defence team of the concerned citizen has appealed the verdict... and if the appeals court rules in her favour, she will be released,' the statement said.

Ibrahim was born to a Muslim father but has never practiced Islam. She was given three days to 'recant' her Christian faith but refused and was sentenced to 100 lashes and given the death penalty. Her marriage to Daniel Wani was also annulled.

Meriam gave birth to a little girl called Maya in prison on Tuesday.

Hillary Clinton has described the sentence as 'abhorrent and David Cameron has said he's 'appalled' at how she's being treated.

Amnesty International are currently heading a campaign demanding her immediate release and her execution, which is expected to take place in two years, be halted. A Change.org petition has also got over 700,000 signatures so far.

Sign the petition to get Meriam Ibrahim released here.