At eight months pregnant, Ibrahim was sentenced to death in Sudan for apostasy. She was eventually freed last year after giving birth in prison amid international outcry. Here, she answers your questions on her ordeal

Meriam Ibrahim made global headlines last year when Sudanese authorities sentenced her to death for apostasy after she married a Christian man. She was jailed at eight months pregnant and said she was forced to give birth “shackled to the floor”.

Ibrahim’s case drew global condemnation from human rights campaigners and international politicians alike. Sudan finally agreed to release her, and allowed her to leave the country in June.

The 27-year-old has now started a new life in exile with her family in the United States. Here, she answers Guardian readers’ questions about her incarceration with her children, her strength of faith, and the ongoing battle for human rights in her homeland.

‘Knowing that the world was beside me gave me hope’



During Ibrahim’s incarceration an online petition hosted by Amnesty International was signed by over one million people. Edzilla asked if she was aware of the support and if it had helped her focused on the “light at the end of the tunnel?”

“[My husband] Daniel told me about all the people who defended me and encouraged me to hold on to my [Christian] faith,” she said, adding that the swell of global support gave her hope that she “would be victorious.”



Ibrahim added a note of thanks to Amnesty and others who demanded her release – from the European Union to the American ambassador in Khartoum – “and all those who were praying for me.”



‘I was sad to part with my country but that’s the price of my life’

Like many others, Guardian user ID9482761 expressed sympathy towards Ibrahim’s situation and asked what she planned to tell her children about her experience as they grow up. Ibrahim said that she’d be sure to tell them, “especially Maya who was born in prison.”

Ibrahim, says she is waiting for a “good offer” to write a book that would “reach the whole world and everyone who [was] praying for me and my family.” She added that she was sad to part with her country “but that’s the price of my life, my family’s life.”



‘The blame is with the state’

ClarkEKhat was interested in where Ibrahim laid the blame for her situation – was it with religion, the state, or individuals?



“I think that the blame is with the state because they are supporting the extremists and the exercises of religious persecution of Christians in Sudan,” Ibrahim said. She also accused the government of destroying churches and torturing Christians.

Open Doors UK, a campaign group that tracks global persecutions against Christians, ranks Sudan as the sixth worst offender in the world and accuse President Omar al-Bashir of using the “rise of radical Islam to maintain his power base”.

‘I succeeded because I am convinced of what I do’

Ibrahim was released from prison on 23 June last year and allowed to leave the country. She flew to meet the pope at the Vatican before moving to the United States with her family. Her husband Daniel was already a US citizen.

When [my son Martin] cried and said he wanted his father the guards hit him and said ‘you do not have a father’

Ookymooky wanted to know if she felt settled, happy and safe and if her children had recovered from their ordeal?

Ibrahim replied to say: “I’m happy, despite the difficult circumstances, what happened, what I faced, was a test of my faith ... I succeeded because I am convinced of what I do.”

She also described her son Martin’s ordeal. He was just under two years-old at the time and separated from his father, living with her in the isolated prison: “When he cried and said he wanted his father the guards hit him and said ‘you do not have a father.’ That was a difficult period.”



‘I lived the painful experience of a woman in prison’

Rory Kemp asked if Ibrahim is committed to fighting for freedoms for others in Sudan, adding these words of encouragement: “I know that is a massive responsibility but I know a lot of people would stand with you. I would stand with you.”

I lived the painful experience of a woman in prison need in of humanitarian and legal support

Ibrahim said she was dedicated to fighting for freedom around the world and revealed plans for a charity to support people working to counter religious persecution and support women in prison: “I lived the painful experience of a woman in prison need in humanitarian and legal support”.

Acknowledging Kemp’s note of support she said: “I am confident that there are many who will stand with me and you are one of them, thanks.”

‘To live freely and defend religion’

Maria Weronika Raczka wanted to know more about the driving force behind her refusal to denounce her faith.

Ibrahim said she had been protesting “in order to live freely and to defend religion”. She said she hoped that other Christians would feel less intimidated after her experience – “I devote myself to them,” she said.

‘Faith is life’

ArwenBird asked Ibrahim what it felt like to be willing to die for your faith, to which she replied: “Faith is life. I always remember the image of Jesus and he died on the cross for us. We should love and defend him.” She also thanked her faith for protecting and teaching her not to be afraid of “any evil”.

‘Sudan’s human rights are in a very dangerous situation’

Ruchita Sarvaiya asked what the world could do to support the fight for human rights in Sudan – a country where the autocratic president is renowned for harsh crackdowns on the opposition, and is the only sitting head of state to have been indicted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ibrahim describes the human rights situation in Sudan as “very bad and in a dangerous situation”. She talks about her hopes of regime change at the next election – due to take place on 13 April – and called for international supervision of the process.

She went on to accuse the government of tearing down the “social fabric” of Sudan and sewing “discord between the sects of society.” She blames this for the separation of South Sudan in 2011 and the ongoing rebellions in the Nuba Mountains and Darfur. Sudanese academic Ahmed H Adam has recently warned that north Darfur was facing a fresh threat of genocide at the hands of forces loyal to the regime.

Every citizen is entitled to their rights, whether Christian or Muslim, without any religious, racial or tribal intolerance

Ibrahim also called for Sudan to recognise itself as a country of multiple “races and religions” where every citizen should be entitled to their rights “whether Christian or Muslim, without any religious, racial or tribal intolerance”. It is vital, she said, to “secure future for generations to come.”