III 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 453 

Condemning the death sentence against Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a 

Sudanese Christian woman accused of apostasy. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2014 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. INHOFE, Mrs. 

FISCHER, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. VITTER, Mr. MORAN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. BOOZMAN, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Wisconsin, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. BURR, Ms. MIKULSKI, and 

Mr. COBURN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the death sentence against Meriam Yahia 

Ibrahim Ishag, a Sudanese Christian woman accused 

of apostasy. 

Whereas, on May 15, 2014, a Sudanese court affirmed a sentence of death by hanging for 27-year-old Meriam Yahia 

Ibrahim Ishag, a Christian woman accused of apostasy 

for refusing to recant her Christian faith, and ordered 

her to receive 100 lashes for adultery because under Sudan’s Shari’ah law such inter-religious marriages are illegal; 


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•SRES 453 IS 

Whereas Ibrahim is eight months pregnant and being held in 

the Omdurman Federal Women’s Prison with her 20- 

month-old son; 

Whereas the Department of State has designated Sudan as 

a ‘‘Country of Particular Concern’’ under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 

105–292) based on the government’s systematic, ongoing, 

and egregious violations of religious freedom since 1999; 

Whereas the Sudanese 1991 Criminal Code allows for death 

sentences for apostasy, stoning for adultery, cross-amputations for theft, prison sentences for blasphemy, and 

floggings for undefined acts of ‘‘indecency’’; 

Whereas, according to the United States Commission on 

International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the Government of Sudan, led by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, 

continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious 

violations of religious freedom or belief, imposes a restrictive interpretation of Shari’ah law on Muslims and nonMuslims alike and, along with other National Congress 

Party leaders, President al-Bashir has stated that Sudan’s new constitution, when drafted, will be based on its 

interpretation of Shari’ah; 

Whereas, according to USCIRF, since South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011, the number and severity 

of harsh Shari’ah-based judicial decisions in Sudan has 

increased, including sentences of amputation for theft 

and sentences of stoning for adultery; 

Whereas the United States Government has designated 

Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism since August 12, 

1993, for repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism; 


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•SRES 453 IS 

Whereas the Sudanese 2005 Interim Constitution states that 

‘‘[t]he State shall respect the religious rights to (a) worship or assemble in connection with any religion or belief’’; 

Whereas the International Covenant on Civil and Political 

Rights, which the Government of Sudan has acceded, 

provides that ‘‘everyone shall have the right to freedom 

of thought, conscience. and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of 

his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others, and in public or private, to manifest his 

religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, and 

teaching.’’; 

Whereas the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & 

Public Life found that, as of 2011, 10 percent of the 198 

countries surveyed had apostasy laws which can, and 

have been, used to punish both Muslims and non-Muslims 

in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Morocco, and 

Sudan; and 

Whereas people have the right to practice their faith without 

fear of death or persecution: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the charge of apostasy and death 

3 sentence of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag and calls 

4 for immediate and unconditional release of her and 

5 her son; 

6 (2) encourages efforts by the United States 

7 Government to support religious freedom within 

8 Sudan, including by requiring, before normalizing 


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1 relations or lifting sanctions under the International 

2 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105– 

3 292) and the International Emergency Economic 

4 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), that the Gov5 ernment of Sudan abide by international standards 

6 of freedom of religion or belief; 

7 (3) urges the Government of Sudan to ensure 

8 that, when drafting the country’s new constitution, 

9 the process is transparent and inclusive of civil soci10 ety leaders and representatives of all major political 

11 parties, to ensure that the new constitution includes 

12 protections for freedom of religion or belief, respect 

13 for international human rights commitments, and 

14 recognition of Sudan as a multireligious, multi15 ethnic, and multicultural nation; 

16 (4) recognizes that every individual regardless 

17 of religion should have the opportunity to practice 

18 his or her religion without fear of discrimination; 

19 (5) reaffirms the commitment of the United 

20 States Government to end religious discrimination 

21 and to pursue policies that guarantee the basic 

22 human rights of all individuals worldwide; and 

23 (6) encourages the Department of State and 

24 the United States Agency for International DevelopVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:56 May 22, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR453.IS SR453

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1 ment to continue their support for initiatives world2 wide that support religious freedom. 

Æ 


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