The Sudanese Council of Churches has called for the immediate release of Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, the Christian woman sentenced to death last month for apostasy from Islam.

The Sudanese Council of Churches has called for the immediate release of Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, the Christian woman sentenced to death last month for apostasy from Islam by a Khartoum court. In a 1 June 2014 statement given to the media, the SCC said the death sentence for apostasy and sentence of 100 lashes for adultery for having married a Christian is a “clear and direct persecution of Christians in Sudan”. The statement from the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Reformed, Orthodox and Independent Christian churches further charged her conviction Articles 31 and 38 of the Sudanese Constitution and contravened the International Charter of Human Rights which provides for freedom of religion and conscience. Sudan is a signatory to the Human Rights convention. Press reports from Sudan have quoted an unnamed senior government leader as having said Mrs. Ibrahim will be released from prison, however she remains in prison. Last week she gave birth to a daughter, but remained shackled during her delivery her husband reported. Under her current sentence of death, Mrs. Ibrahim will be allowed to look after her child for two years before the sentence is carried out.