Sudanese woman spared death for apostasy meets Pope Francis

Her religious commitment earned her ostracism and detention in her home country, and saw her handed a death sentence and forced to give birth in shackles in prison.

On Thursday, however, Meriam Ibrahim's commitment as a Christian, and her remarkable fortitude in the face of persecution, was rewarded by an audience with the pope as she flew out of Sudan to begin a new life abroad.

Smiling, with her two-month-old baby in her arms, Ibrahim was shown on Italian television stepping out of a plane in Rome, in a surprise arrival that the government's junior foreign affairs minister, Lapo Pistelli, said was the fruit of sustained diplomacy.

Spared a death sentence for apostasy after an international outcry, the 27-year-old Sudanese woman had been staying at the US embassy in Khartoum with her husband and their two children since being blocked from leaving the country last month.

Yesterday morning, however, she was on the ground at Ciampino airport in the Italian capital, where she was expected to spend a few days before heading to the US. Within hours of arriving, flanked by Pistelli, prime minister Matteo Renzi and foreign minister Federica Mogherini, Ibrahim was at Casa Santa Martha, the Vatican guesthouse where Pope Francis lives.

"The pope thanked Meriam and her family for their courageous demonstration of constancy of faith. Meriam gave thanks for the great support and comfort which she received from the prayers of the pope and of many other people who believe and are of goodwill," said Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.  The encounter lasted for just under 30 minutes and took place in an atmosphere "of serenity and tenderness", he added. The 77-year-old pontiff also wanted the encounter to have a symbolic message: his "closeness, attention and prayer for all those who suffer because of their faith and in particular Christians who suffer persecution or restriction to their freedom of religion," Lombardi said.

Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and to death for apostasy in May, sparking an international campaign to lift the sentence. More than a million people backed an Amnesty International campaign to get her released, with David Cameron, the British prime minister, and US civil rights activist Jesse Jackson among world leaders who clamoured for her release.

While on death row, Ibrahim, a graduate of Sudan University's school of medicine, gave birth in May. It was a difficult birth as her legs were in chains and Ibrahim is worried that the girl may need support to walk. She was told her death sentence would be deferred for two years to allow her to nurse the baby.

Under the Sudanese penal code, Muslims are forbidden from changing faith, and Muslim women are not permitted to marry Christian men.

During her trial in Khartoum, she told the court that she had been brought up as a Christian, and refused to renounce her faith. She and Daniel Wani – an American citizen – married in 2011. The court ruled that the union was invalid and that Ibrahim was guilty of adultery.

Her convictions, sentences and detention in Omdurman women's prison while heavily pregnant and with her toddler son incarcerated alongside her caused international outrage. After an appeal court overturned the death sentence, Ibrahim, Wani and their two children tried to leave last month, but were turned back. The Sudanese government accused her of trying to leave the country with false papers, preventing her departure for the US.

Her lawyer, Mohaned Mostafa, said he had not been told of her departure on Thursday yesterday. "I don't know anything about such news but so far the complaint that was filed against Meriam which prevents her from travelling from Sudan has not been cancelled," he told Reuters.