AIUSA Group 48 is honored to co-present the Rising Up: Sudan film series in July. Please join us for free online performances, films and conversations that will bring audiences together to witness, celebrate, and amplify the perspectives of communities in Sudan and its diaspora. After registering, you will receive links to view the films online and stream the panel discussions.
We are in the worst refugee crisis since WWII, with over 21.3 million refugees across the globe. But dozens of hateful anti-refugee bills have been introduced in Congress—and the president has signed an anti-refugee executive order, carrying the force of law. The order bans Syrian refugees; bans visa holders from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen for 90 days; and suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (“USRAP”) for 120 months. At a time when U.S. leadership is vital to protecting lives, the U.S. is abdicating its responsibilities. The executive order signed discrimination into law and amounts to a Muslim ban. Refugees are being scapegoated in the name of national security.
On May 15th, while eight-months pregnant, Meriam Yehya Ibrahim was sentenced to death after refusing to renounce her Christian faith. She was also sentenced to 100 lashes for “adultery” because she is married to a Christian man.
Meriam is being held in a prison in Khartoum, Sudan, along with her young son, Martin, and newborn daughter, Maya. Her lawyer says she has been shackled with heavy chains, even during labor.
Amnesty International considers Meriam a prisoner of conscience imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of her beliefs.
The court charged Meriam, who has a Muslim father, with adultery under a law that prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men. When Meriam explained that she was raised as an Orthodox Christian, her mother’s religion, she was charged with abandoning her Muslim faith and sentenced to death.
It is unclear when her execution will take place. Sudan’s Criminal Code requires that pregnant women sentenced to death must be kept alive to give birth and nurse for two years before being executed.
AIUSA Group 48 