Britain Summons Sudan Diplomat over Death Penalty for Pregnant Christian convert

Britain summoned the Sudanese charge d’affaires on Monday to protest against sentencing a pregnant woman to death for converting to Christianity.

A Sudanese court this month handed down the sentence to 27-year-old Mariam Yahya Ibrahim for converting to Christianity. The court ordered her to abandon her newly adopted faith and return to Islam. She was also charged with adultery for marrying a Christian.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office reports: 

On 15 May Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a young pregnant Sudanese mother, was found guilty by a Sudanese court for allegedly changing her religious faith. At the request of the Foreign Secretary, the Chargé d’Affaires at the Sudanese Embassy in the UK, Mr Bukhari Afandi, was summoned to the Foreign Office today to meet Political Director Simon Gass. The Political Director expressed deep concern at the recent decision to sentence Meriam to death for apostasy and asked the Chargé to urge his government to uphold its international obligations on freedom of religion or belief, and to do all it can to get this decision overturned.

In a statement immediately following the court’s decision, the UK’s Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds MP described Meriam’s sentencing as barbaric, and urged the Sudanese Government to respect the right to religion or belief.