Gave birth in chains, baby may be unable to walk

[gelati3]

I've posted about this on Chat but due to lack of response, also posting here

This is what appeared in Huffington Post-

On May 15, a court in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum sentenced a heavily pregnant woman named Meriam Ibrahim to death for apostasy. The decision, which raised troubling questions about the nation’s judicial process, ignited a campaign among international media, aid agencies and thousands of concerned observers to release Ibrahim.

Though ultimately a success, the effects of Ibrahim’s imprisonment are already apparent.

During her imprisonment, the 27-year-old gave birth to a daughter while her legs were chained. The effects of that, she said in her first comments since her release, have been profound. She claims doctors think her baby may never be able to walk. “I gave birth chained,” she told CNN in a telephone interview. “Not cuffs but chains on my legs. I couldn’t open my legs so the women had to lift me off the table. I wasn’t attached to the table. … Something has happened to the baby. I don’t know in the future whether she’ll need support to walk or not.”

Her account added one more outrage to a story that has already angered thousands and again exposed the controversial nature of Sudan’s application of Islamic law. Thirty years ago, another man was executed for apostasy in Khartoum. More recently, one woman was sentenced to a lashing for wearing trousers.

And in 2012, one 20-year-old mother was convicted of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning. “She did not have access to a lawyer during her trial, and was convicted based on testimony she gave after being beaten by her brother,” Amnesty International said. “She is being detained with her baby. She in psychological distress and does not understand the nature of her sentence.”

As horrifying as those stories are, the circumstances of Meriam Ibrahim struck a more resonant chord in the international community.

Lawyers say the court employed counterfactual reasoning to sentence Ibrahim to death. Ibrahim, a lifelong Christian, was sentenced to a hundred lashes and death for adultery and for refusing to renounce her faith. The court said it did not recognize Ibrahim’s marriage to her husband, also a Christian. It said Ibrahim, whose father was a Muslim, should have been a Muslim as well. As such, her marriage to U.S. citizen Daniel Wani was declared invalid — and she was convicted of adultery.

“She should never have been prosecuted,” Amnesty International’s deputy regional director Sarah Jackson said. “Meriam was sentenced to death when eight months pregnant for something which should not be a crime.”

In her comments on Tuesday, Ibrahim said her first concern when she got to prison was giving birth. “I was only thinking about my children and how I was going to give birth,” she told CNN. “I was really scared of giving birth in prison.”

Even scarier, she said, was the treatment she endured while inside the jail. To try and convince her to renounce her Christianity, she says “a different sheikh [was] coming to speak to me every other time. All women in prison [were] saying all sorts of things like, ‘Don’t eat the non-believer’s food.’ There was all this talk and taunts. Even the officers in the prison would join in.”

Her husband told the Guardian the authorities made it “extremely tough” on her when she went into labor. “She spent two days in her labor blood after she gave birth,” he said. “They prevented her from having a shower until the human rights committee [visited].” He claimed the guards searched the newborn daughter, Maya, when she was five days old and “put their dirty hands in the food I brought them".
Last month, Ibrahim was released after high-profile politicians from Hillary Clinton to Tony Blair called for her release. But days later, she was detained again while trying to travel from Sudan for the United States. The Sudanese authorities claim her travel documents have been forged, though she denies those allegations.

“To be honest, I’m really miserable,” she told CNN. “I left prison to bring together my children and settle down. I found myself in jail today and tomorrow and now there are protests against me in the streets.”

And on FB page-

Update 4th July. Well yesterday's court hearing was postponed Meanwhile another court case is looming. The "brother" who has vowed to kill Meriam, is trying to bring another court case. There are various articles being written about this but the legal team explained it to me like this. A Mother and Father in Sudan own their daughter and therefore control what she does and who she can marry etc. The "brother" is saying that he wants the court to give him those rights of ownership of Meriam in lieu of her parents. This is his wish but it is not a court case yet. Meriam's departure from Sudan is being blocked in every way. The cruelty to her and her family has been unbearable. It is time to resume the nagging and harassment of the Sudanese Government. Below is the list of numbers etc. Some may be blocked or have been crashed by our zealous emailing. Can you all start using the addresses/numbers again but can you report which ones are still working so that we use the best and working addresses. Meriam needs out of Sudan ASAP so please share this everywhere. Thanks guys BiL
Telephone numbers
For those in the U.S. here is the contact information for the Sudanese Embassy in DC
(202)338-8565
if you are in the UK
0207 839 8080
Email Addresses
[email protected]
The Ministry of Justice in Sudan is [email protected]
The Sudan Embassy in London is [email protected]

Addresses for the Sudanese Embassies and Consulates
www.embassypages.com/sudan
www.sudanembassy.org/index.php
Petitions/campaigns
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/278/113/666/
www.italianblogsfordarfur.it/petizione/
amnistia.org.mx/nuevo/2014/05/16/mas-de-25000-personas-en-mexico-exigen-se-impida-la-ejecucion-de-mujer-sudanesa/
www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/sudan-execution-apostasy-pregnant-woman-mother-meriam-yahya-ibrahim-christian?thankyou=1
secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/President_of_Sudan_Omar_AlBashir_Save_Mariam_Yahya/?dJwWzhb&pv=0&fb_source=timeline&ref=profile#=


Please take time to send an e-mail and/or sign a petition.