International
Ashraf Shazly/Getty Images
A Christian woman sentenced to death in Sudan for apostasy but later freed has been detained at an airport while trying to leave the country Tuesday, her lawyer said.
Eman Abdul-Rahim said that his client Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was being held along with her husband and two children at the international airport in Khartoum, the country's capital. Abdul-Rahim did not elaborate on the circumstances of Ibrahim’s detention and security officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Sudan's top security service said on its official Facebook page that the Sudanese Foreign Ministry has summoned the American and South Sudanese ambassadors after Ibrahim attempted to travel to the U.S. using documents issued by the embassy of South Sudan.
"The airport passport police arrested Abrar after she presented emergency travel documents issued by the South Sudanese embassy and carrying an American visa," Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services' media department said on Facebook, referring to Ibrahim by her Muslim name. "The Sudanese authorities considered (the action) a criminal violation, and the Foreign Ministry summoned the American and South Sudanese ambassadors," it added.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters on Tuesday that the Sudanese government has "assured us of their safety," referring to Ibrahim and her family.
"We are engaging directly with Sudanese officials to secure their safe and swift departure from Sudan," Harf said.
Ibrahim was convicted in May of apostasy — abandoning one’s faith — for marrying a Christian man from southern Sudan in 2011. She was born to a Muslim father, but was raised by her Christian mother.
Sudan's strict penal code forbids Muslims from converting to other religions, and has made it a crime punishable by death. In addition, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited from marrying outside the faith, although Muslim men can. By Sudanese law, children must also follow their father's religion.
Muslim advocacy groups have been quick to point out that punishment for leaving the religion is against the teachings of Islam, noting that the Quran itself states: “Let there be no compulsion in religion.”
Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Al Jazeera: “It is our belief, along with that of scholars we consulted, that there is no penalty for apostasy.”
The death sentence handed to Ibrahim likewise drew international condemnation from rights groups and governments, with Amnesty International calling it "abhorrent” and the U.S. State Department saying that it was "deeply disturbed" by the verdict.
Amid international pressure, Sudan's Court of Cassation threw out Ibrahim's death sentence on Monday and freed her after a presentation by her legal team.
But her detention on Tuesday follows the latest set back in the case.
Sudan introduced a strict penal code in the early 1980s under the rule of autocrat Jaafar Nimeiri. A number of Sudanese people have been convicted of apostasy in recent years, but they all escaped execution by recanting their new faith.
Al Jazeera and wire services
Sudan's recent apostasy death sentence is a manifestation of the wrongful use of religion in politics.
Does Islamic law really proscribe the death penalty for apostasy?
Meanwhile, creator of forum for church members questioning their faith says he's also being ousted for his LGBT activism
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.