Meriam Ibrahim remains in a ‘holding pattern’ as U.S. and Sudanese officials hammer out a deal that will allow the 27-year-old to leave that country with her family.
Ibrahim, was reportedly re-arrested at Khartoum Airport Tuesday, seized in fact, by the National Intelligence Security Services, who many citizens in Sudan dub the 'Agents of Fear.' This occurred while Ibrahim and her family was attempting to leave Sudan on a Tuesday flight out of the country. At this hour while technically free, she remains under the watchful eye of Sudanese police.
Sudanese officials still maintain that Ibrahim was “not under arrest,” but only detained. That detention, according to Sudanese officials, came about when it was discovered that Ibrahim’s travel documents to leave the country might have been forged, a charge that could carry a seven year sentence, said a legal expert.
The family of four is being held at the Al Sheradee police station in Khartoum. She had reportedly carried travel documents issued by South Sudan, the newly independent country that broke off from Sudan three years ago.
According to U.S. State Department Deputy Spokeswoman, Marie Harf, the family of four remains “safe and secure,” while Sudan’s Foreign Minister continues high level meetings with the U.S. Charge d’Affairs. That latest tidbit of information came during Harf’s daily press briefing Wednesday with reporters in Washington.
Harf said that U.S. Embassy Officials had been in direct contact with Ibrahim while local officials in a police station were holding her. She was escorted by police
from the international airport in Khartoum, and joined by her two children and her husband, Daniel Wani, who is an American citizen.
Her current legal issues “are not related to the previous case,” said Harf. Yet, Ibrahim’s lawyer, Shareif Ali Shareif, had said that Sudanese officials “do not have the right to hold her. They appear not to want to let her leave Sudan. They are restricting her movements.”
Ibrahim was originally charged and convicted of marrying a Christian and was set to be caned 100 times, and later, hanged for her offense. The charges and her detention made headlines around the world. Sudanese government officials released Ibrahim on Monday following the wide spread public outcry.
She was also subjected to harsh treatment while in custody. One example of that treatment, she was reportedly put to bed in prison by Sudanese officials with her legs chained. That followed her insistence never to renounce her Christian faith, and that came within a four-day ultimatum she had received.
The State Department Deputy Spokeswoman, Marie Harf, did tell reporters that the U.S. remains satisfied with this updated account of Ibrahim’s status. “Our goal is to get them out as swiftly as possible,” added Harf.
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