Meriam Ibrahim

Meriam Ibrahim is a Sudanese-American woman who became an international human rights case when she was arrested in Sudan in 2013 and subsequently sentenced to death by hanging for apostasy and adultery under Sudanese Islamic law. Ibrahim, who was raised Christian by her Eritrean Christian mother and Sudanese Muslim father, had married a Christian South Sudanese-American man, Daniel Wani. Her case attracted worldwide attention from human rights organizations, religious groups, and governments who viewed her prosecution as a violation of fundamental freedoms of religion and conscience. Despite her conviction, international pressure mounted, and in 2014, Sudan's appeals court overturned her death sentence. Following her release, Ibrahim and her family were granted asylum in the United States. Her remarkable ordeal has made her an advocate for religious freedom and women's rights, and her case remains emblematic of the challenges faced by religious minorities and women in countries with strict Islamic legal systems.