Fight to Save Woman Sentenced to Death for Marrying Christian Goes Viral
A woman sentenced to death for marrying a Christian is drawing support from people around the globe as her story has gone viral on social media under the "#savemeriam" hashtag and world leaders condemn the sentence.
Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was sentenced to be flogged and hanged to death in Sudan for marrying a Christian and converting from the Muslim faith to Christianity. Ibrahim, who was raised by her Christian mother, was eight months pregnant at the time of her sentence and has since given birth.
Ibrahim's story has galvanized people across the globe and this week a twitter hashtag "#Savemeriam" started to spread across the social network site to spur support for Ibrahim.
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Actress Mia Farrow also tweeted out the number for the Sudanese embassy, to encourage people to call and voice outrage over the verdict.
Hi #Sudan Gov. In my twitter feed word most used w 'Sudan' is "barbaric". You can change that. #SaveMeriam Stop killing ppl in #Darfur etc
- mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) May 30, 2014The 27-year-old is married to an American who lives in New Hampshire. Her husband traveled to Sudan this month to try to get the sentence overturned.
In addition to viral messages of support, world leaders have weighed in and this week British Prime Minister David Cameron called the treatment of Ibrahim "barbaric" and said it "has no place in today's world."
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair described the case as a "brutal and sickening distortion of faith."
The U.S. condemned the Sudanese court ruling earlier this month, with both the State Department and the White House calling on Sudan to uphold its human rights commitments.
New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte asked Secretary of State John Kerry to grant Ibrahim political asylum.
ABC News' Colleen Curry and The Associated Press have contributed to this report.
