Sudan Christian Woman Meriam Ibrahim Re-Released after Airport Arrest

A Christian woman acquitted of apostasy and then rearrested over accusations she was trying to flee Sudan on forged documents has been released again.

Lawyers for Meriam Ibrahim, 27, said she was released from a police station in Khartoum upon pressure on the government from foreign diplomats.

Antonella Napoli, the chairwoman of Ngo Italians for Darfur, told IBTimes UK that, according to local sources, Ibrahim was taken to a Khartoum safe house by local authorities upon release to keep her safe until formal procedures to allow her to leave the country were completed.

Ibrahim was detained at Khartoum airport along with her family a day after a Sudanese appeal court reversed her conviction for abandoning Islam and adultery.

Her husband, Daniel Wani, said the family intended to leave for the US as soon as possible as they feared for their lives.

"We are worried. That's why we want to get out of here as soon as possible," Wani said.

At the airport, however, they were held by agents of the Sudan National Intelligence and Security Service, citing problems with the South Sudanese passport and American visa Ibrahim was travelling with.

Born to a Christian mother and a Muslim father, Ibrahim was sentenced to death by hanging under the country's strict Sharia laws after she married Wani, a Christian, in 2011.

In Sudan interfaith marriage is forbidden and, according to Islamic law, children inherit the father's religion while the mother's line is considered irrelevant.

Ibrahim claimed she was raised as a Christian and refused to renounce her faith. She was subsequently accused of renouncing Islam through her marriage and sentenced to death.

She was also sentenced to 100 lashes after being convicted of adultery, as her marriage was deemed invalid.

Ibrahim was imprisoned with her 20-month-old son, and gave birth to a baby girl while in chains. Her case sparked global outrage, with the British government calling on Sudan to release her.