Scottish Catholic Observer

Meriam Ibrahim, the Christian whose death sentences for apostasy and 100 lashes for adultery was quashed, is back in custody after trying to leave the country with travel documents officials alleged were fake.

The 27-year-old was detained on Tuesday, along with her American husband Daniel Wani and their two children, as they tried to fly out of Khartoum. This setback came less than 24 hours after Sudan’s appeal court overturned her conviction of her alleged conversion to Christianity from Islam. Her father, who abandoned her, was a Muslim but she was raised as a Christian and married a Christian man.

Elshareef Ali Mohammed, Mrs Ibrahim’s lawyer, said her client now faces charges of forging a document, an offence that could result in a five-year prison sentence under Sudan’s law. The lawyer, who was with the family when they were detained, said they were given no reason for their detention.

Mrs Ibrahim’s emergency travel documents were issued by South Sudan but, according to official,s she is not recognised as a South Sudanese citizen.

Police official have refused to release the family on bail and have stated they require more time to conclude their investigation. Mrs Ibrahim has not been charged with any offence; however the police are investigating the alleged irregularities with her travel documents.

It is believed the family were trying to travel to Washington DC to get Mrs Ibrahim to safety. Sudanese media have reported that the US vice consul was with the family at the airport.

A man claiming to be Mrs Ibrahim’s brother, however, is alleging that she was ‘kidnapped’ as soon as she set foot out of prison.

Al Samani Al Hadi Mohamed Abdullah claims that Mrs Ibrahim was ‘kidnapped’ upon her release, and spirited away out of the country without her consent.

He was among the group who accused her of abandoning her Islamic faith. She maintains she was never a Muslim in the first place.

Her case has attracted a widespread international outcry, uniting churches, civil rights groups and politicians such as Prime Minister David Cameron and US Foreign Secretary John Kerry, all joining an international campaign to secure her freedom.