Family of Sudan’s apostasy woman files lawsuit to annul her marriage
July 18, 2014 (KHARTOUM) –The family of the Sudanese woman convicted of apostasy has filed a lawsuit to annul her marriage to her Christian husband.
However, the 27-year-old woman was taken into custody by National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) officers at Khartoum airport last month along with her husband, Daniel Wani, and two children.
After being released from custody, Ibrahim has been staying at the US embassy in Khartoum along with her husband and two young children.
The Sudanese government accuses Ibrahim of forgery and providing false information in relation to a South Sudanese travel document she used while trying to leave Sudan for the US, a day after the appeals court ruling.
Ibrahim, who was reportedly born to a largely absent Sudanese Muslim father, was raised according to her Ethiopian mother’s Christian faith.
Earlier this month, Ibrahim’s brother lodged a case in the court of proceedings in the Alhag Youssef neighbourhood, east of Khartoum to prove that Ibrahim is a family member through a DNA test.
Her father also filed a lawsuit to prove that Ibrahim is his daughter and a Muslim but he withdrew the case this week without providing a reason.
Ibrahim’s sentence drew widespread international condemnation, with Amnesty International calling it “abhorrent”. The US state department said it was “deeply disturbed” by the sentence and called on the Sudanese government to respect religious freedoms.
UK prime minister David Cameron told The Times that he was “absolutely appalled” when he learnt of the death sentence against Ibrahim and called for lifting the “barbaric” verdict.
The US state department welcomed the release of Ibrahim and called on Sudan to “repeal its laws that are inconsistent with its 2005 interim constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”.
(ST)
