Maryam Yahya Ibrahim Ishaq

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Maryam Yahya Ibrahim Ishaq (also Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag ; born November 3, 1987 in the state of al-Qadarif ; Arabic مريم يحيى إبراهيم إسحق, DMG Maryam Yaḥyā Ibrahīm Isḥaq ; variations in spelling include Mariam and Meriam , Yahia and Jahia and Ishag and Ishak ) is a Roman Catholic Christian from the Sudan , because of apostasy from Islam by the train should have been executed. She was released after international protests and was able to leave the country on July 24, 2014.

Life

Maryam Ishaq's father is a Muslim who left the family when Maryam was six years old. She was raised in the Ethiopian Orthodox faith by her Christian mother, studied medicine at the University of Khartoum , did her doctorate and worked as a doctor . She later married a Christian named Daniel Wani. Her husband is Südsudanese and since 2005 a citizen of the United States ; According to the BBC , he is disabled and needs a wheelchair.

Death sentence, release and background

She was arrested in August 2013 after a relative accused her of committing adultery by marrying a Christian. The criminal court in Al-Haj Yousef, a district of Khartoum where many Christians live, declared the church marriage to be invalid. The charge was later expanded to include apostasy, although she always declared that she was a Christian. Because she refused to convert to Islam, she was sentenced to death and was given 100 lashes before her execution . Had the death sentence been carried out, the state of Sudan would have received custody of both children, since the husband, as a Christian, has no rights over his children.

Ishag was incarcerated in Omdurman Federal Women's Prison and gave birth to a daughter named Maya on May 27, 2014. During the delivery in the prison infirmary, she was chained by the legs. According to Islamic law, death sentences against pregnant women in Sudan are postponed until the mother has weaned the baby. Her 20-month-old son Martin also lived in the cell with Ishaq.

Her lawyer appealed the death sentence and wanted to go to the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court if necessary, as Amnesty International reports. According to an AFP report, on June 23, 2014, an appeals court actually ruled that Ishaq should be released immediately. Reports that she and her family were arrested again at Khartoum Airport on June 24th turned out to be false reports the next day ; she had only been questioned by the authorities. The US government tried to get the family to leave the country soon, which finally took place on July 24th in an Italian government plane. She was greeted at Rome Ciampino Airport by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and his wife. She was then received by Pope Francis . As guests of Italy, they spent some time there before moving on to Manchester, New Hampshire .

Background: Discrimination and persecution of Christians in Sudan

The Sharia applies in Sudan since 1983 and provides for the death penalty for turning away from Islam. Women are prohibited from marrying non-Muslim men. Conversely, men are allowed to marry non-Muslim women. With a number of 87 points, Sudan ranks 4th in the World Persecution Index (WVI) 2018 of the Christian aid organization Open Doors . Since 1989, non-Muslims have been discriminated against by the state in Sudan. Some of them have been confiscated or destroyed, priests and church leaders are persecuted and thousands of Christians have been punished according to Sharia law.

International protest and reactions

The verdict had a large international media coverage and a broad, worldwide outrage, sympathy and wave of protests from the international community, churches and civil society.

Protest and reactions from the international community

The US, Canada, UK and Netherlands embassies in Sudan issued a joint statement expressing their disapproval. British Prime Minister David Cameron described the death sentence as barbaric: “The way she is being treated is barbaric and has no place in today's world. (German: The way in which it is dealt with is barbaric and has no place in today's world.) "The Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, Christoph Strässer , urged the Sudanese government to observe human rights, especially religious and freedom of belief and the right to life.

Protest and reactions from the churches

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi , representative of the Holy See at the UN in Geneva , brought the case in connection with other cases, such as Asia Bibi in Pakistan, who was also sentenced to death under Sharia law . The basic problem for Archbishop Silvano Tomasi is: "How can we uphold the fundamental human rights of these people in the face of certain traditions or political mix-ups that make respect for these rights a difficult matter?" The Vatican diplomat counts the principle of religious freedom among these fundamental rights : This includes not only practicing a religion undisturbed, but also switching from one religion to another: “That was also recognized by the Sudan's 2005 constitution. Although this is only a provisional constitution, it is still the current one. "

Olav Fykse Tveit , General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), appealed to the President of Sudan to protect their lives. Tveit said the conviction of Maryam Yahya Ibrahim Ishaq violated a fundamental principle of international human rights law, which is part of the Sudanese constitution.

A declaration by the "Internal Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan" stated that Article 38 of the Constitution of Sudan from 2005 stipulates freedom of belief and religion.

Protests and reactions from NGOs and civil society

An international internet petition from change.org has so far been signed by 1,080,980 (July 18, 2014) supporters. The Amnesty International campaign “Stop Execution of Mother in Sudan” was supported by 225,963 actions (June 1, 2014).

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sudan: Christian Sentenced to Death for Her Faith , Spiegel Online, May 15, 2014
  2. ↑ https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/sudan-execution-apostasy-pregnant-woman-mother-meriam-yahya-ibrahim-christian
  3. ↑ Sudan: Convicted Christian's husband hopes for revision
  4. ↑ The mirror
  5. ↑ Sudan: Expectant mother receives death sentence. Open Doors, May 16, 2014, accessed May 15, 2016 .
  6. ↑ dpa / KNA / jw: Sudan: Italy wants to save a Christian who was sentenced to death. In: welt.de . May 17, 2014, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Sudan: Convicted Christian's husband hopes for revision
  8. ↑ Sudan: Christian woman sentenced to death gives birth to child , Spiegel Online. May 27, 2014. 
  9. ↑ Christian woman sentenced to death released in Sudan. WeltN24, June 23, 2014, accessed May 15, 2016 .
  10. ↑ BBC: Sudan death row woman Meriam Ibrahim 're-arrested' , June 24, 2014; taz: Meriam back in custody , June 24, 2014
  11. ↑ Sudan: Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag free , kath.net , June 25, 2014
  12. ↑ Sudanese Christian flees to Rome. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . July 24, 2014, accessed July 24, 2014 .
  13. ^ Giselda Vagnoni, Khalid Abdel Aziz: Death row Christian woman flies out of Sudan. In: Reuters . July 24, 2014, accessed July 24, 2014 .
  14. ^ Rescued Christian from Sudan: "The ordeal is over". In: Spiegel Online . August 1, 2014, accessed August 1, 2014 .
  15. ↑ Sudan: Convicted Christian's husband hopes for revision
  16. ↑ Open Doors: World Chase Index. Open Doors, accessed December 27, 2018 .
  17. ↑ http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article51185
  18. ↑ http://news.sky.com/story/1272505/cameron-meriam-death-sentence-is-barbaric
  19. ↑ Sudan: Human Rights Commissioner calls for respect for religious freedom. ABC New Media, May 27, 2014, accessed May 15, 2016 .
  20. ^ Sudan: Meriam in mortal danger
  21. ↑ http://allafrica.com/stories/201405231601.html
  22. ↑ http://www.oikoumene.org/de/press-centre/news/wcc-calls-on-sudanese-president-to-protect-mariam-yahia-ibrahim-ishag?set_language=de
  23. ↑ http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/files/StatementMariamYahyadeathSentenece.pdf
  24. ↑ http://www.change.org/de/PetUNGEN/sudan-stoppen-sie-die-hinrichtung-von-mariam-yehya-ibrahim-savemariam
  25. ↑ Christian in Sudan: Mother sentenced to death should be released. In: Spiegel Online . May 31, 2014, accessed June 10, 2018 .
  26. ↑ https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/sudan-execution-apostasy-pregnant-woman-mother-meriam-yahya-ibrahim-christian
personal data
SURNAME Ishaq, Maryam Yahya Ibrahim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ishag, Mariam Yahia Ibrahim; Ishak, Meriam Jahia Ibrahim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sudanese Roman Catholic Christian
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd November 1987
PLACE OF BIRTH State al-Qadarif