Woman Sentenced to Death for Christianity to Be Freed

A Sudanese court has voided the death sentence for Meriam Ibrahim and ordered her release, the country's SUNA news service reported today. Ibrahim had been sentenced to 100 lashes and hanging because she refused to renounce her Christian faith, in a case that has drawn international attention. Her lawyer tells the Guardian that apart from hearing of the release on the radio, he knew nothing of it. "I'm going to check if this is true," he said.

Ibrahim's husband, American citizen Daniel Wani, had been told earlier this month that an appeals court was considering the case, the Independent reports, and the government had earlier promised to release her. Wani has complained that Ibrahim has been held in inhumane conditions; when she gave birth, for example, she did so in heavy chains, which she has had to wear continuously since being sentenced to death. (More Meriam Ibrahim stories.)