Christian mother Meriam Ibrahim, who was recently released from death row for being a Christian, was banned from leaving Sudan Tuesday after she was charged with fraud for trying to leave the country with documents bearing her Christian name and not the Muslim name she was assigned at birth.
According to a MailOnline report, just hours after Ibrahim was relieved of the death sentence hanging over her head, she tried leaving the country Tuesday but was arrested and charged with falsifying travel documents.
“It is understood that the authorities told her she should have used the Muslim name she had when she was born, not the Christian name she uses after choosing to worship that faith,” noted MailOnline.
About 40 members of the Sudanese security police reportedly confronted Meriam’s traveling party including their lawyers at the airport in Khartoum Tuesday.
In a testy press briefing Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Meriam and her family had been detained at the airport in Khartoum for several hours but the State Department was working with Sudanese officials to ensure the family leaves Sudan as quickly as possible.
“The State Department has been informed by the Sudanese Government that the family was temporarily detained at the airport for several hours by the government for questioning over issues related to their travel and I think travel documents. They have not been arrested. The government has assured us of their safety,” said Harf.
Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email
Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.