Sudanese Christian mother Meriam Ibrahim said that her newborn daughter Maya, whom she gave birth to while in prison, will undergo an ultrasound to see if she can walk. Her family is currently staying at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan and hoping to be able to move to America soon.
While previous reports suggested that Maya is physically disabled, The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that hopes are now that the two-month-old girl will be fine, but the ultrasound will be needed to confirm that she will be able to walk. A doctor who came to the U.S. embassy in Khartoum performed the physical examination.
The publication says that it spoke with Italian journalist and activist Antonella Napoli, who visited Ibrahim’s family at th U.S embassy, and revealed that Meriam, her two children, and her husband Daniel Wani, an American citizen, are sleeping in the embassy and are being cared for by staff.
Fears were that Maya, who was born in jail while her mother was in shackles, could be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life, like her father, who has muscular dystrophy.
Following an international outcry for her release, led by several persecution watchdog groups, Ibrahim was freed from prison in June after an appeals court found the lower court’s death penalty sentence to be unfounded. As Ibrahim’s family tried to fly out of Sudan and head for the U.S., however, she was re-arrested and accused of using forged travel documents.Ibrahim had initially been sentenced to death for marrying Wani, a Christian, as the Sudanese court recognized her as a Muslim and charged her with apostasy and adultery.
Ibrahim and Wani were released from the police station shortly after, but remain in legal limbo as they try to find a way to come to the U.S. and seek refuge there.
