Foreign Minister Steinmeier on the death sentence handed down to Meriam Yehya Ibrahim in the Sudan: Quash this inhuman death sentence!

BERLIN, Germany, June 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier issued the following statement this evening (4 June), after meeting with the Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ali Karti:

We also spoke about the case of Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, a young woman who has been condemned to death in the Sudan for abandoning the Muslim faith, and who recently gave birth in prison. I told the Sudanese Foreign Minister that the general public in Germany was outraged by the case and that it casts a shadow on how his country is viewed by people in Germany.

We expect this inhuman death sentence against Meriam Yehya Ibrahim to be quashed. I hope that the young woman will soon be able to lead a normal life in freedom with her children and her husband.

Hintergrund:

In mid-May 2014 a Sudanese court of first instance in Khartoum condemned Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag to death for abandoning her Muslim faith. The proceedings are still ongoing. Under Sudanese law all death sentences must be confirmed by the Supreme Court. In the Sudan, Islam is the state religion, but the Sudanese constitution also provides for the observance of various other religions and the free practice of faith.