Ibrahim’s faith ‘never wavered’ during ordeal

The Christian mother who was put on death row in Sudan for refusing to renounce her faith said that she “knew God would not abandon her” when she arrived in Rome last week, writes Hannah Roberts.

Pope Francis met privately with Meriam Ibrahim, 27, who was condemned to death for remaining true to the Christian faith in which she was raised. The authorities maintained she was Muslim because her absentee father was Muslim. The Pope, blessing her and the girl she gave birth to in shackles in prison, commended her “great testimony to faith”.

The Italians played a key role in Ms Ibrahim’s release. After pressure from the campaign group Italians for Darfur, a minister raised her case during a visit to Khartoum. On Wednesday last week, she got the all-clear from the Sudanese and the Italians sent a government plane to fetch her.