It appears that the death sentence for apostasy and adultery handed down for Meriam Ibrahim has been commuted by Sudan's highest court. According to the linked report, she has been moved to a safehouse. This is of course very good news, and praised be God for it. It is to be hoped that some arrangements will be made to reunite her and her newborn baby with her husband in America. Being an actual political refugee, I hope that her escape--and that's just what it is, as she is still under threat from the Muslim mob--will be facilitated by the US State Department with haste.
As in a lot of circumstances these days, we must satisfy ourselves with the cold comfort that political expediency has won the day, this time, and produced a passably just outcome. That the sentence was arrived at by what was probably a most impeccable application of the law of Sudan and of Islam more generally should inspire us to vigilance, and to a clear-eyed view of the magnitude of the evil that is ever more ascendant wherever the cruel children of the lonely God hold sway.
UPDATE: It is being reported that Mr. and Mrs. Ibrahim were arrested in the airport while attempting to leave the country. A man claiming to be her brother (there is some dispute on that point, strangely) has said of the ruling, "The family is unconvinced by the court's decision. We were not informed by the court that she was to be released; this came as a surprise to us...The law has failed to uphold our rights. This is now an issue of honor. The Christians have tarnished our honor, and we will know how to avenge it."
Undoubtedly they do know. Pray for her and for her family.
Comments (19)
Thanks for this update, Sage, which I had not previously seen. A few weeks ago there was a misleading statement from the government that she "would be freed" which was then contradicted within less than a day. This report seems more definite.
May God continue to protect her and get her out of the country. She and her children are not safe there. I would love to see an interview with her husband confirming even her present and tenuous safety.
Posted by Lydia | June 23, 2014 12:57 PM
This looks for real. More details here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2665929/pictured-meriam-ibrahim-freed-Sudanese-mother-sentenced-death-converting-Christianity-freed-international-outcry.html
Posted by Lydia | June 23, 2014 10:40 PM
Praise God. For now. We'll give full thanks when she's outta there.
Posted by William Luse | June 24, 2014 12:58 AM
She and her husband have been arrested, apparently for trying to leave the country:
http://www.answeringmuslims.com/2014/06/sudanese-apostate-meriam-ibrahim.html
Posted by Lydia | June 24, 2014 9:28 AM
And a new report from McClatchy is that they were released again, but I don't have confirmation of it nor a link.
God have mercy on this family.
Posted by Beth Impson | June 24, 2014 2:46 PM
Beth may be right, but nothing's done until they're out of the country:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/meriam-ibrahim-sudanese-apostasy-woman-rearrested-with-family-at-airport-9559894.html
Posted by William Luse | June 24, 2014 6:38 PM
Remarkable how little of this story I'm seeing on conservative outlets.
Posted by William Luse | June 24, 2014 6:42 PM
I'm constantly getting e-mails from conservative outlets about it.
Posted by Lydia | June 24, 2014 6:44 PM
It's not looking good. Her lawyer says she has been transferred to police detention. Their security agency says it was a "criminal offense" for her to use South Sudan documents (apparently supplied by the U.S.) to try to leave the country.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/sudan-summons-u-s-ambassador-over-assistance-meriam-ibrahim-n140206
Notice how this completely falsifies the few stories we saw that said she was only "briefly" detained or that it was temporary. It appears that different agencies of the Sudanese government do not always work together and that the NISS is trying to keep her in the country forcibly.
Posted by Lydia | June 25, 2014 11:41 AM
I say we leave the State Department out of it this and let the family's escape be "facilitated" by US Special Forces. I am glad that State has at least awakened to the situation, but as Mark Steyn argued powerfully, these are American citizens, unjustly held by foreign tyrants.
Posted by Paul J Cella | June 25, 2014 11:50 AM
A Daily Mail article I just saw had a pundit saying State bungled it and could have prevented this. I don't know if that's true, but they certainly waited until the last minute to get involved. And when this administration isn't evil, it's bungling, so I wouldn't be surprised. Haven't gotten any word on where the children are or the husband. At first they were "detained" as well, but now that she has been transferred to police custody, I don't know where they are.
What a disaster.
Posted by Lydia | June 25, 2014 12:48 PM
I'm with Paul; send in the Seals.
Posted by Beth Impson | June 25, 2014 1:30 PM
Tentative prediction: Obama will do a last-minute "Jesse Jackson" negotiation and rescue Meriam and her family.
HUGE media fawning and praise to Obama. Libs will cheer wildly, and use photo-ops galore to take gigantic political advantage. Conservatives will have no choice but to acknowledge Obama's intervention with gratitude.
Just a tentative prediction. That's the way I'd play it if was a Lib.
Posted by Truth Unites... and Divides | June 25, 2014 1:54 PM
Here's the Daily Mail article.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2669300/Another-cruel-twist-knife-Sudanese-mother-Meriam-Ibrahim-faces-SEVEN-years-jail-trying-flee-country-hours-death-sentence-marrying-Christian-dropped.html
Posted by Lydia | June 25, 2014 1:57 PM
via Kamilla Ludwig on FB: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28050753
Posted by William Luse | June 26, 2014 10:42 PM
Looks like they are not going to allow her out of the country. This could be a long stand-off.
Posted by Lydia | June 27, 2014 12:33 PM
via Hot Air, via Reuters: http://hotair.com/archives/2014/06/28/us-sudan-negotiating-exit-for-meriam-ibrahim/
Posted by William Luse | June 28, 2014 5:02 PM
Thanks, Bill, that's informative. I assume this is what was meant by the U.S. bungling it before, that they should have made sure she had Sudanese documents the first time. However, that may not be so easy.
Posted by Lydia | June 28, 2014 7:11 PM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sudan/10938264/Meriam-Ibrahim-My-baby-is-disabled-because-I-gave-birth-with-my-legs-chained.html
Posted by William Luse | July 3, 2014 6:37 PM