A Sudanese woman facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity is going free.
Meriam Ibrahim was ordered released and her death sentence canceled by the Court of Cassation in Khartoum on Monday, according to state media.
The 27-year-old mother of two was convicted in May of apostasy after marrying a Christian man in 2011. She was ordered to renounce the religion, but refused.
Ibrahim, who gave birth to her second child while imprisoned, was sentenced to 100 lashes and then death by hanging for defying the court.
Her first child, who is less than two years old, lived with her in prison. Her husband, Daniel Wani, suffers from muscular dystrophy and is wheelchair-bound.
Authorities initially delayed the execution because she was pregnant. She would also have been given time to nurse the child afterwards before the death sentence was carried out, according to Amnesty International.
Despite being raised by her Ethiopian-born Christian mother, Ibrahim was considered Muslim because of her father. Sharia law, which was adopted in Sudan during the 1980s, demands that children follow their father’s religion.
Islam also prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men. This rule does not apply to Muslim men.
The case has attracted international attention and outrage. The U.S. State Department said in May it was “deeply disturbed” by the sentence.
Several cases of Sudanese being convicted of apostasy have come up in recent years, but in each case they escaped death by recanting their faith.
With News Wire Services
msheridan@nydailynews.com; or follow him at Twitter.com/NYDNSheridan
