Human rights advocates are blasting a Sudanese court for sentencing a pregnant Christian woman to death by hanging for apostasy for supposedly “renouncing” Islam, and 100 lashes for adultery for marrying a Christian man.  It came over the objections of foreign embassies urging Sudan to respect her choice of religion.

The Sharia law court ruled 27-year old Meriam Yehya Ibrahim is a Muslim by default, because that was her father’s religion – the father that bugged out of family life while she was still an infant, leaving her to be raised by a Christian mother. 

Earlier in the hearing, Ibrahim explained to the judge, “I am a Christian and I never committed apostasy.”  But the court chose to remain in medieval times.

“We gave you three days to recant but you insist on not returning to Islam,” the judge said on Thursday.  “I sentence you to be hanged to death,” a sentence that will be delayed for two years after she gives birth.  Ibrahim remains in detention with her 20-month-old son.

Amnesty International says immediately pointed out that these religious sentences are a flagrant violation of International Law.

“The fact that a woman has been sentenced to death for her religious choice, and to flogging for being married to a man of an allegedly different religion is appalling and abhorrent,” said Manar Idriss, Amnesty International’s Sudan researcher.