A Christian mother formerly on death row in Sudan has taken refuge at the U.S. Embassy after being released from police custody for a second time. Meriam Ibrahim, 27, was sentenced to death on apostasy charges – the crime of denouncing Islam. She was freed Monday following international outcry, but rearrested a day later at Khartoum's airport while trying to fly to the U.S. with her husband, who is an American citizen, and two children, one of whom she gave birth to while in prison.
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A video report by the BBC’s Arabic service showed the Ibrahim released for a second time late Thursday. But Ibrahim’s passage to the U.S. may still be blocked as she now faces forgery charges relating to the emergency travel documents she attempted to use to get out of the country. According to Reuters, Ibrahim was released on the condition that she not attempt to leave the country. Speaking before Ibrahim was freed from custody, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Thursday that the woman had all the documents she needed to travel to U.S. "It's up to the government of Sudan to allow her to exit the country," Harf told reporters.
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- Alexander Smith
Reuters contributed to this report.