Sudanese Christian Meriam Ibrahim's family files new lawsuit to annul her marriage

Meriam Ibrahim and her husband, Daniel Wani

Meriam Ibrahim's family filed another lawsuit against her on Friday in a continued attempt to keep her from leaving Sudan.

The first lawsuit filed earlier this week sought to prove the biological link between Ibrahim and her Muslim father, but the suit was inexplicably dropped by the family. A new lawsuit now seeks to annul Ibrahim's marriage to Christian U.S. citizen Daniel Wani.

Although she was raised by an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian mother, Ibrahim is considered Muslim under Sharia law because that is the faith of her estranged father. She was arrested in January for apostasy and sentenced to 100 lashes and death after her family filed charges against her.

The religious freedom case garnered international attention, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned her sentence. Britain's foreign office called Ibrahim's sentence "barbaric," and urged Sudanese Charge d'Affaires Bukhari Afandi to overturn her conviction.

The United Nations also condemned her sentence, and tens of thousands of people signed petitions on BeHeardProject.com, GoPetition.com, and other activist websites.

The sentence was overturned on appeal on June 23.

Ibrahim, her husband, and their children, Martin, 21-months-old, and Maya, two-months-old, tried to leave the country the day after the appeal decision, but were arrested at the airport for allegedly possessing false travel documents. It is unclear if charges have been filed in that case.

The family has been living at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum awaiting a release from the Sudanese government.

An annulment of Wani and Ibrahim's marriage would also mean Martin and Maya are not recognized as Wani's children – something the New Hampshire man feared would happen.

"An illegitimate marriage does not result in legally recognized offspring, which means that my son and the new baby are no longer mine," Wani told CNN in May.

A judge will hear Ibrahim's family's lawsuit on August 4.

News
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day

A major fire tore through one of Amsterdam’s best-known historic buildings in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seriously damaging the property and forcing people to leave nearby homes.

Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures
Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures

Rwandan President Paul Kagame defended the government's forced closure of Evangelical churches, accusing them of being a “den of bandits” led by deceptive relics of colonialism. 

We are the story still being written
We are the story still being written

The story of Christ continues in the lives of those who take up His calling.

Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas
Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas

International Christian Concern reported more than 80 incidents in India, some of them violent, over Christmas.