Paul Keenan
Woman never embraced Islam, priest insists
The Archdiocese of Khartoum, Sudan, has called for an immediate review of the death sentence handed down to Christian Meriam Ibrahim Ishag.
The mother of two continues to languish in prison in the country following the sentence imposed on May 11. She is currently nursing her second child, born on May 28.
Describing the case against the woman as “stunning”, Fr Mussa Timothy Kacho, episcopal vicar of Khartoum said the entire issue had been mishandled by the Sudanese authorities, while her lawyer has now quit the case due to death threats.
“Never in her life did she embrace the Islamic religion or renounce it. She has never been a Muslim in her life,” Fr Kacho said.
The priest further revealed that Meriam is insisting that the men, claiming to be relatives, who levelled the charges against her, are not related to her in any way and she had never seen them before her arrest.
Fr Kacho reported also that Meriam is under constant pressure to convert to Islam by her guards, while her husband, a Christian, has also been urged by numerous parties to force his wife’s conversion.
