SUDAN: WOMAN TO BE HANGED FOR SHUNNING ISLAM

May 15, 2014: a Sudanese judge confirmed the death sentence of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, the pregnant woman who was charged with apostasy as well as adultery for marrying a Christian man, something prohibited for Muslim women to do and which makes the marriage void.
The woman was originally sentenced to death on Sunday but given until Thursday to return to Islam. “We gave you three days to recant but you insist on not returning to Islam. I sentence you to be hanged to death,” Judge Abbas Mohammed Al-Khalifa told the woman, addressing her by a Muslim name, Adraf Al-Hadi Mohammed Abdullah. Earlier in the hearing, an Islamic cleric spoke with her in a caged dock for about 30 minutes, AFP reported.
Then Mariam Yahya Ibrahim calmly told the judge: "I am a Christian and I never committed apostasy." She was raised as an Orthodox Christian, her mother's religion, because her father, a Muslim, was reportedly absent during her childhood.
The judge also sentenced the woman to 100 lashes after convicting her of adultery. Local media reported the sentence would not be carried out for two years after she has given birth. (Sources: BBC, 15/05/2014)