Husband of Imprisoned Christian Mother in Sudan American Citizen
Compassionate grounds alone should be the reason to set free an eight-months-pregnant Christian mother and her 20-month-old baby from incarceration in Sudan.
“Meriam Ibrahim has been sentenced to death by hanging after a Sudanese court found her guilty on charges of apostasy — converting from Islam — and 100 lashes on a charge of adultery. Her marriage to a Christian man was forbidden and voided in the eyes of the court. (New Hampshire Union Leader, May 17, 2014)
“The court gave the 27-year-old doctor until Thursday to recant her Christian faith, but she refused and was subsequently sentenced to hang.
Though the story has gone viral over the Net, the New Hampshire Union Leader was one of the only news outlets to report that Meriam’s husband Daniel Wani is a U.S. citizen.
The New Hampshire Union Leader was also one of the few news outlets reporting on the actual steps being taken to set the mother and little toddler free:
“U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., issued statements condemning the action of the Sudanese court.
“The sentencing of Meriam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag is an abhorrent violation of fundamental freedoms and universal human rights,” Shaheen said. “No man or woman anywhere should be treated as a criminal much less sentenced to hanging for exercising the basic right of religious choice.”
“Shaheen’s staff contacted the Department of State to discuss possible options.
“Ayotte and fellow U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday, urging him to take immediate action in response to the “outrageous” court ruling. Ayotte also released a statement expressing her outrage at the decision.
“The Sudanese court’s ruling is a grave injustice and a violation of the fundamental human right of religious liberty,” she said. “I urge the U.S. government to immediately offer Meriam political asylum and do everything in its power to secure her and her son’s safe release.”
Daniel Wani’s brother, Manchester, NH resident Gabriel Wani can’t sleep over his agonizing worries for the family’s fate.
“He don’t know what to do. He tried before a couple times to talk to the embassy to help him out with the situation. Now the embassy tries to act and everything is too late,” Gabriel Wani told the New Hampshire Union Leader on Friday.
“She remained in a Khartoum prison with her 20-month-old son, Martin, while awaiting the birth of her second child next month. Daniel Wani was isolated at his family’s home in Khartoum, where he told his brother he was being watched and feared for his own safety as well as that of his wife, son and unborn child.
“Daniel Wani, a U.S. citizen since 2005, went to Sudan last summer to arrange for his wife and child to move to New Hampshire, where the Wani brothers immigrated in 1998 after fleeing the war-torn African country.
“He tried to do the best for his family. He left his wife over there and came back here for his business,” Gabriel Wani said. “Now he went to see his son and go visit his wife.”
“Although Ibrahim was raised as a Christian by her mother, she was Islamic by law because her father was a Muslim.
Ibrahim was arrested by Sudanese authorities when one of her own relatives reported her marriage to a Christian.
Gabriel Wani said the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum was slow to respond to his requests until Ibrahim’s arrest and trial, which quickly gained interest outside Sudan as word spread of the harsh sentence.
“We are praying for a miracle,” he said.
Given that the fate of the mother and her 20-month-old son, Martin, lies in the hands of Secretary of State John Kerry, their freedom from religious oppression may very well depend on Gabriel’s prayed-for miracle.
Meriam’s husband Daniel is a U.S.citizen, so what’s keeping Kerry from acting?
If any situation calling for swift justice deserves a viral hashtag circulated on the Internet by politicians and celebrities, the pregnant mother and imprisoned toddler are it: #BringMeriam&MartinHome.
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