Young Mother Released on Bail, Facing New Charges

Daniel and Meriam
Photo: Gabriel Wani / Facebook

After being apprehended by authorities the day after her acquittal and release from prison, Meriam Ibrahim and her family remain in Sudan and now face new charges.

Meriam, 27, was sentenced in May with both apostasy and adultery, as government officials didn't consider her marriage to a Christian man valid. Although she was released from prison on June 23rd, she was detained the next day along with her husband, Daniel, and their two young children at the airport in Khartoum. The couple has been charged with forgery and provision of false information for using travel documents issued by the Embassy of South Sudan. (For more information on these new charges, please visit this page.)

Mervyn Thomas of Christian Solidarity Worldwide has argued against the charges: "Their extended detention, which occurred despite the provision of credible evidence by relevant officials from the South Sudanese embassy that negates every allegation levelled against them, violates Sudan's criminal procedures as well as article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sudan is a signatory." The family is reportedly required to remain in Sudan until this new case is concluded.

In addition to these latest charges, Meriam recently shared that she fears her infant daughter, who was born in late May while she was shackled to the prison floor, may be physically disabled due to the mistreatment she endured during labour and delivery.

Please continue to keep this distressed family in your prayers, asking God to greatly encourage and strengthen them each day. When they feel weary from this difficult and agonizing trial, pray that they will continue looking to their Saviour for guidance. May these new charges quickly be dropped so they will be free to depart Sudan. Ask God to grant His wisdom to the legal team as they advocate on this dear family's behalf. Please also pray for Meriam and Daniel's newborn daughter, asking God to grant this little one strength and healing from any possible injuries or disabilities caused by the harsh treatment of the prison workers.

  • Country Information

    Population
    49,197,555 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Sudanese Arab (70), Fur, Beja, Nuba and Fallata (30)

    Religion
    Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

    Leader
    President (to be determined)
    Transitional military leadership in place

    Government type
    Presidential republic

    Legal system
    Mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for Sudan

    Pray that Christians throughout Sudan will continue to entrust themselves to Christ and preach the Gospel boldly, knowing Jesus is the ruler over the kings of the earth (2 Timothy 1:7-12, Revelation 1:5).

    Pray also that peace, justice and religious freedom may be firmly established.

Sudan News

  • Church Building Destroyed While Authorities Watch
    A pile of rubble - corregated metal, wood, and various other objects - is heaped where a building once stood.
    A demolished Pentecostal church building in Khartoum.
    Photo: CSW

    On July 8th, approximately 30 individuals equipped with heavy machinery demolished a Pentecostal church in the El Haj Yousif area of Khartoum as police officers and military personnel looked on without intervening. By the time the demolition was finished, the worship hall – which had been constructed in the early 1990s – was reduced to rubble, along with the church's administrative offices, guest house, and other adjoining buildings.

  • Church Leaders Face Violence from Multiple Sides
    A large church with several spires.
    A church in Sudan.
    Photo: Flickr / David Stanley (cc)

    The bishop of the El-Obeid diocese in Sudan recently suffered a harrowing ordeal at the hands of both members of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and those of the opposing rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On December 1st, Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali reported that he was travelling with a deacon named Joseph. The ministry team had just arrived in El-Obeid when they were suddenly stopped and harassed by the SAF. The troops seized the small sum of money in U.S. dollars that the bishop was carrying, claiming that it was forbidden currency. During the robbery, the soldiers also physically harmed the two men.

  • Displaced Christians Driven From Their Homes
    A large group of people are gathered around a small mosque.
    A group of people in Sudan.
    Photo: Wikipedia / Nina R (cc)

    Residents of the Al-Makniya area of Sudan's River Nile state drove 34 displaced Christians from their homes on October 19th. Those responsible for the displacement explained that they did not want any Christians nor black people in the area.

  • Military Officers Arrest Christian Refugees
    A group of men are standing together. They appear to be singing.
    Photo: VOMC
     

    Amid the ongoing civil war in Sudan, a group of over 100 Sudanese men, women and children travelled to the city of Shendi on the banks of the Nile River in search of refuge from the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group, RSF. There, the refugees – most of whom are members of the Sudanese Church of Christ – sought shelter in an affiliated church building.