Meriam Ibrahim May Face New Trial after her own Brother Blocked her Escape to the US

Meriam Ibrahim, the mother condemned to death in Sudan for marrying a Christian is being prevented from fleeing the country by her callous brother - and could face an entirely new trial.

She has been hit with a new petition by Al Samani Al Hadi who has publicly vowed to execute her if he gets the chance. She faces forgery charges that relate to the documents she used to try and flee Sudan  - and could be hauled before a judge again, delaying her departure by weeks or months.

The twist represents the latest setback for Meriam in her attempt to leave Sudan and fly to the US.
She was freed on June 30 after spending eight months behind bars in a horrific women's prison in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

During her time in the facility she gave birth to daughter Maya, one month, in shackles whilst her son Martin, 21 months, was by her side during the entire ordeal.

The day after the sentence was overturned Meriam and her family tried to fly to South Sudan en route to the US but she was detained and accused of using false papers in a naked attempt to thrawt her by the Sudanese government.

Now adding to her woes is her half brother Al Hadi, a strict Muslim who was supposedly furious when he learned she had been let out of jail and vowed vengeance to restore Muslim honour.

Meriam's lawyer Shareif Ali Shareif told MailOnline:

‘Her brother [Al Samani Al Hadi] has launched a new petition to the family court to prove that Meriam is his sister. He does not want Meriam to travel to Sudan. He asked the court to rule that Meriam is his sister. This would give him a legal right over her. But he does not have the authority to demand this right – it is only a father or a mother that can demand this legal status. He is doing this to prevent Meriam from travelling outside of Sudan. 

Meriam has not been officially informed of this latest move. She has not been interviewed and has not appeared in court. We [Meriam’s legal team] are aware of the new legal process but we have not received any documents as yet.'

Meriam's family history is complicated and it appears Al Hadi was part of the second family that her father started after he left her mother.  She claims never to have met him in her life and his motives for interfering in her life seem somewhat murky.