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Sudanese woman 'not rearrested'

June 24, 2014

A Sudanese woman believed to have been rearrested a day after her death sentence was annulled has been released. She was boarding a flight to the US with her family when they were stopped by security officials.

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Sudan Christin Meriam Ibrahim mit Kind
Image: AFP/Getty Images

Twenty-seven-year-old Meriam Ibrahim was travelling with her American husband, Daniel Wani, and their two young children when they were prevented from boarding a plane at Khartoum airport on Tuesday.

It was reported she had been rearrested just a day after her death sentence for apostasy was annulled and she was released from prison.

However, the US said on Tuesday that it had received assurances a Sudanese Christian woman had not been rearrested.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington had been informed by Sudan that the family was temporarily detained at the airport for several hours by the government for questioning about issues related to their travel documents.

"The government has assured us of their safety. The embassy has and will remain highly involved in working with the family and the government. We are engaging directly with Sudanese officials to secure their safe and swift departure from Sudan," said Harf.

International outcry over death sentence

The case sparked an outcry from Western governments and rights groups after the mother-of-two was sentenced to hang on May 15.

Ibrahim was raised according to her mother's Christian faith after her Muslim father left the family when she was five years old.

She was convicted under Islamic Sharia law in force in Sudan since 1983, which outlaws conversions on pain of death.

One of her lawyers said she went into hiding because of death threats after an appeal court quashed the verdict.

"She is in a safe place. I will not tell you where," Mohanad Mustafa told the AFP news agency on Monday night. "The main reason is that we are concerned about her life."

Ibrahim was released on Monday after what the Sudanese government described as "unprecedented international pressure."

lw/ng (AFP, Reuters, AP)