After release, Sudan’s Meriam Ibrahim speaks out

7/5/14

Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman previously sentenced to death for apostasy, spoke up for the first time, sharing her fears for the health of a daughter born in extreme conditions in prison, and her concerns over an unknown future for her family.

“I gave birth chained. Not cuffs but chains on my legs. I couldn’t open my legs so the women had to lift me off the table. I wasn’t attached to the table,” Ibrahim told CNN in a telephone call.

Doctors feared that the delivery circumstances could have permanent consequences on the newborn.

“I don’t know in the future whether she’ll need support to walk or not,” Ibrahim added.

Ibrahim, who married a Christian South-Sudanese-American, was recently spared a death sentence for converting to Christianity. Only a day later, the 27-year-old and her family were arrested at Khartoum airport, while trying to leave the country with her family.

Ibrahim was detained because of using travel documents issued in South Sudan’s embassy.

In response to her new charges, Ibrahim insists that her travel documents are legit.

“How can my paperwork be wrong? My paperwork came from the embassy. It’s 100% correct and it was approved by the South Sudan ambassador and the American ambassador,” she said.

Ibrahim and her family were freed again on Thursday, Ibrahim’s lawyer told The Associated Press.

Since the release, her husband and children had all been staying at the U.S. embassy in Khartoum – granted on the condition that Ibrahim stays in Sudan.

The new mom’s location is not disclosed. “I’m currently in a safe place. It’s definitely safe but not comfortable,” Ibrahim told CNN.

Sudanese authorities faced huge international pressure over Ibrahim’s case. Last May, Washington and London summoned the Sudanese charge d’affaires, in protest against Ibrahim’s death sentence.

Last Update: Wednesday, 2 July 2014 KSA 14:59 – GMT 11:59

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