This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/30/husband-sudan-death-row-meriam-ibrahim

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Husband of Sudanese death row woman appeals for support Husband of Sudanese death row woman appeals for support
(about 3 hours later)
The husband of Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman sentenced to hang for apostasy, has appealed for global support to free his wife from death row. The husband of Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman sentenced to hang for apostasy, has appealed for global support to free his wife from death row, where she is being held with her two young children after giving birth while shackled this week.
Daniel Wani, a US citizen since 2005, said mounting international pressure could have a significant impact on the Sudanese authorities and he felt overwhelmed by "the way people have come together around the world" to protest at his wife's death sentence. Daniel Wani, a US citizen since 2005, said mounting international pressure could have a significant impact on the Sudanese authorities, and he felt overwhelmed by "the way people have come together around the world" to protest at his wife's death sentence.
"The calls are overwhelming. I want to thank everyone for this stand. It's looking like it had an effect. Perhaps it will result in the judgment being overturned," he told CNN. "I want to thank everyone for this stand. It's looking like it had an effect. Perhaps it will result in the judgment being overturned," he told CNN.
Ibrahim, 27, gave birth to a baby girl in a prison clinic this week while shackled by her feet. Guards needed permission from the prison director to release the chains, which was not obtained, her lawyer Elshareef Mohammed told the Guardian. Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and to death for apostasy this month. She told a court in Khartoum that she had been brought up as a Christian and refused to renounce her faith. She and Wani married in 2011, but the court ruled that the union was invalid and that Ibrahim was guilty of adultery.
Wani was permitted to visit his wife, baby Maya and 20-month-old son Martin on Thursday at the Omdurman women's prison near Khartoum. "She is a beautiful baby, and they are all fine," said Mohammed. "Martin is with her, and is a bit jealous of the baby." Ibrahim, a graduate of Sudan University's school of medicine, has been told that her death sentence will be deferred for two years to allow her to nurse her baby.
He said Ibrahim and the children were being kept in the prison clinic, and Wani had been given permission to visit them twice a week. The shackles were removed on Wednesday. International condemnation of Ibrahim's conviction and death sentence has gathered momentum. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed an Amnesty International petition in support of her release, including more than 150,000 in the UK. More than 600,000 people have added their name to a separate petition on change.org.
Both Wani and Mohammed said the US authorities in Khartoum had failed to press for Ibrahim's release. "It's not the US government, when the problem began the US consul here had a very negative position on this. She was very high handed … She said, and I quote, 'I don't have time,'" Wani told CNN. Justine Greening, the UK international development minister, tweeted: "Sudan must not allow the execution of Meriam Ibrahim to go ahead. #SaveMeriam". Mia Farrow urged her Twitter followers to bombard the Sudanese embassies in London and Washington with calls demanding Ibrahim's release.
The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, backed a statement from the Christian Muslim Forum in the UK calling for the sentence to be rescinded. "I wholeheartedly endorse this call … for the death sentence against Mariam Yahya to be dropped," he said in a statement.
Ibrahim, 27, gave birth to a baby girl in a prison clinic this week while shackled by her feet to the floor. Guards needed permission from the prison director to release the chains, which was not obtained, her lawyer Elshareef Mohammed told the Guardian.
Wani was permitted to visit his wife, new baby Maya and 20-month-old son Martin on Thursday at the Omdurman women's prison near Khartoum. "She is a beautiful baby, and they are all fine," said Mohamed. "Martin is with her, and is a bit jealous of the baby."
He said Ibrahim and her children were being kept in the prison clinic, and Wani had been given permission to visit her twice a week. The shackles were removed on Wednesday.
Siha, a coalition of women's rights organisations in the Horn of Africa, said it had been informed that Ibrahim had given birth "under atrocious conditions" and had been denied adequate medical care. It described her situation as "dire".
Both Wani and Mohammed said the US authorities in Khartoum had failed to press for Ibrahim's release. "It's not the US government, when the problem began the US consul here had a very negative position on this. She was very high handed … She said, and I quote, 'I don't have time'," Wani told CNN.
Mohammed said: "The US embassy is not giving help." A duty officer at the embassy in Khartoum said no one was available to comment.Mohammed said: "The US embassy is not giving help." A duty officer at the embassy in Khartoum said no one was available to comment.
Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and to death for apostasy this month. She told a court in Khartoum that she had been brought up as a Christian, and she refused to renounce her faith. She and Wani married in 2012, but the court ruled that the union was invalid and Ibrahim was guilty of adultery. The state department spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Thursday that US officials in Khartoum has conveyed "grave concerns" about the case to the Sudanese foreign minister this week, and were closely monitoring the appeals process. "We're doing everything we can to push for her release," she said.
"An 'illegitimate' marriage does not result in legally recognised offspring, which means that my son and the new baby are no longer mine," Wani said.
He said his wife was committed to her Christian faith. "Even last week, they brought in sheikhs and she told them: 'I'm pretty sure I'm not going to change my mind.'"
The couple's lawyers have lodged an appeal against Ibrahim's convictions. "We don't know when there will be an outcome," Mohammed said.The couple's lawyers have lodged an appeal against Ibrahim's convictions. "We don't know when there will be an outcome," Mohammed said.
Ibrahim has been told that her death sentence will be deferred for two years to allow her to nurse her baby. Wani said his wife was committed to her Christian faith. "Even last week, they brought in sheikhs and she told them: 'I'm pretty sure I'm not going to change my mind'."
Hundreds of thousands of people have signed an Amnesty International petition in support of Meriam's release, including more than 150,000 in the UK. Wani, who has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, lives in Manchester, New Hampshire. After he married Ibrahim, he took steps to bring her to the US.
Britain's Foreign Office and the US state department have condemned the convictions and sentence. The UN, Canada and the Netherlands have also called on the Sudanese authorities to overturn the convictions and release Ibrahim. The UK Foreign Office has described the sentence as "barbaric", and summoned the Sudanese charge d'affaires to hear its "deep concern". The UN, Canada and the Netherlands have also called on the Sudanese authorities to overturn the convictions and release Ibrahim.