AFRICA/SUDAN - Christian Churches condemn the death penalty imposed on a Christian woman accused of apostasy

Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - In a joint statement, the churches in Sudan deplore the death sentence imposed on Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy, accused of apostasy. Fr. Boutros Trille Kuku, Deputy Secretary General of the Conference Bishops of Sudan said to AMECEA Online News that the declaration defines the accusations against Mrs. Mariam false and calls on the authorities in Khartoum to review the judgment and to release her.
The woman's husband said that Mrs. Mariam was born to a Muslim father and a Sudanese Ethiopian Orthodox Christian mother. Her father abandoned the family when Mariam was six. According to the Sudanese authorities, the woman is not only an apostate but is also an adulteress, because a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim. Her marriage, according to the Sharia, is therefore to be considered null and void and therefore the woman has been sentenced to be flogged with 100 lashes. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 26/05/2014)