This is the picture that could cost a pregnant woman in Sudan her life after she was sentenced to death for converting to Christianity to marry her husband.
Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, was charged with adultery for marrying a Christian man and has been ordered by the courts to abandon her newly adopted Christian faith and return to Islam.
During yesterday's sentencing hearing Judge Abbas al Khalifa asked the pregnant mother-of-one whether she would return to Islam - but she refused.
She said 'I am a Christian,' and the death sentence was handed down, judicial sources said.
After the verdict her husband, Daniel Wani told CNN: 'I'm so frustrated. I don't know what to do. I'm just praying.'
A government spokesman said the ruling could be appealed in a higher court.
Outside the court, around 50 people held up signs that read 'Freedom of Religion', while some Islamists celebrated the ruling, chanting 'God is Greatest.'
On February 7, Ms Ibrahim was arrested with her 20-month-old son, and put in a women’s prison.
It is thought a relative had turned her in to the police for marrying a Christian.
According to the Sudan’s Public Order Criminal Code, she is a Muslim by default because she was born in Sudan.
Therefore, her marriage to a Christian is classed as a criminal act.
On March 4, she was charged with adultery and apostasy. The adultery charge came with a punishment of 100 lashes and the apostasy charge came with a punishment of death.
Mr Wani is not allowed to care for their child, Martin, because he is a Christian.
Martin, who is almost two years old, is in prison with his mother. Mr Wani is not allowed to visit or see his son.
Young Sudanese university students have mounted a series of protests near Khartoum University in recent weeks asking for an end to human rights abuses, more freedoms and better social and economic conditions in the country.
The authorities decided on Sunday to close the university indefinitely.
Western embassies and Sudanese activists sharply condemned the accusations and called on the Sudanese Islamist-led government to respect freedom of faith.
'The details of this case expose the regime's blatant interference in the personal life of Sudanese citizens,' Sudan Change Now Movement, a youth group, said in a statement.
President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's government is facing a huge economic and political challenge after the 2011 secession of South Sudan, which was Sudan's main source of oil.
A decision by Bashir last year to cut subsidies and impose austerity measures prompted violent protests in which dozens were killed and hundreds were injured.
Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, was charged with adultery for marrying a Christian man and has been ordered by the courts to abandon her newly adopted Christian faith and return to Islam.
During yesterday's sentencing hearing Judge Abbas al Khalifa asked the pregnant mother-of-one whether she would return to Islam - but she refused.
She said 'I am a Christian,' and the death sentence was handed down, judicial sources said.
After the verdict her husband, Daniel Wani told CNN: 'I'm so frustrated. I don't know what to do. I'm just praying.'
A government spokesman said the ruling could be appealed in a higher court.
Outside the court, around 50 people held up signs that read 'Freedom of Religion', while some Islamists celebrated the ruling, chanting 'God is Greatest.'
On February 7, Ms Ibrahim was arrested with her 20-month-old son, and put in a women’s prison.
It is thought a relative had turned her in to the police for marrying a Christian.
According to the Sudan’s Public Order Criminal Code, she is a Muslim by default because she was born in Sudan.
Therefore, her marriage to a Christian is classed as a criminal act.
On March 4, she was charged with adultery and apostasy. The adultery charge came with a punishment of 100 lashes and the apostasy charge came with a punishment of death.
Mr Wani is not allowed to care for their child, Martin, because he is a Christian.
Martin, who is almost two years old, is in prison with his mother. Mr Wani is not allowed to visit or see his son.
Young Sudanese university students have mounted a series of protests near Khartoum University in recent weeks asking for an end to human rights abuses, more freedoms and better social and economic conditions in the country.
The authorities decided on Sunday to close the university indefinitely.
Western embassies and Sudanese activists sharply condemned the accusations and called on the Sudanese Islamist-led government to respect freedom of faith.
'The details of this case expose the regime's blatant interference in the personal life of Sudanese citizens,' Sudan Change Now Movement, a youth group, said in a statement.
President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's government is facing a huge economic and political challenge after the 2011 secession of South Sudan, which was Sudan's main source of oil.
A decision by Bashir last year to cut subsidies and impose austerity measures prompted violent protests in which dozens were killed and hundreds were injured.
Source : DailyMail , CNN , Reuters
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