Sudanese mother sentenced to death for marrying a Christian tells of how her captors repeatedly tried to convert her to Islam

A Sudanese mother who was sentenced to death for marrying a Christian has told of how her captors repeatedly tried to convert her to Islam. 

Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was pregnant with her second child when she was sentenced to hang for apostasy by Sudan's courts under Sharia law. 

She was shackled to the floor of a women's prison in Khartoum, where she gave birth to her daughter Maya while her 21-month-old son Martin was by her side. 

She was finally freed in in late June following an international outcry and was helped to travel to the U.S., where her husband Daniel Wani had citizenship.

Now, Ibrahim has revealed how her captors placed her under 'tremendous pressure' to renounce her religion by reciting parts of the Koran.

She said she was visited every day by imams from the Muslim Scholars Association, who read sections of the religious text to her in a bid to encourage her to convert to Islam. 

'These were imams that created an intervention by reciting parts of the Koran for me. I faced a tremendous amount of pressure,' she told Fox News.

'I had my trust in God. My faith was the only weapon that I had in these confrontations with imams and Muslim scholars, because that's what I believe.'

Ibrahim, whose mother was an Ethiopian Christian and father was a Muslim who abandoned the family when she was young, insisted she was raised a Christian 'from the start'. 

She said that she was forced to give birth to her daughter without medical treatment and with chains on her ankles, but added: 'I was sure God would stand by my side'.

When asked why she didn't convert to Islam to escape her horrific situation, she replied: 'If I did, that would mean I gave up.'

Ibrahim was arrested in August last year and in May, was sentenced to hanging and 100 lashes for adultery and apostasy for marrying Mr Wani.

Because her father was a Muslim, a strict Islamic judge said she had broken the law and must die.

In June 23, she was released from prison, but less than 24 hours later, she and her husband were arrested at a Sudanese airport as they sought to leave the country with their two children.

Last month, Ibrahim finally arrived in New Hampshire to start a new life with Mr Wani, a Christian from South Sudan, after her death sentenced was overturned.

Ibrahim smiled and hugged her supporters as she landed in Manchester, telling a friend: 'Don't cry, I'm here now.'

At the time, her friend Maria Ajang said: 'She was so happy. She said: 'I'm so happy to see you guys here. I was crying and she told me don't cry, I'm here.'

Meanwhile, Mr Wani sobbed uncontrollably and said: 'It's good to be home. There's a sense of relief.

'I want to thank everyone who helped get us home.' 

Culled