Daniel Wani said that he told his wife Meriam Ibrahim “not to resist” when the secret police stopped them and their two children at the airport
Daniel Wani, husband of Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christian faith has spoken for the first time since they left Sudan.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail, Wani spoke on how they were rearrested by the secret police whom he called the โAgents of Fearโ at the airport in Sudanโs capital Khartoum.
He said: โWe got the papers. We got permission to travel through the VIP area. I don’t know why they did that, itโs stupid.โ
โThey made a mistake and wanted to cover it up and they didnโt have a stop order.
โWhen they came to us I said do you have a stop order?
โThey said no and they started to use force, they just threw the lawyers out of the airport, beat them.
โIt was terrifying, secret service personnel, national security. Itโs a lot.
โThey took us, when they started to use force against my wife I said to her donโt resist and just go. We had an interview at the airport.
โWe went in. I stayed there five minutes or 10 minutes and I had a number to call somebody and I told them.
โThey had to cover up what they did, making this decision.โ
Ibrahim was pregnant the entire time she was arrested and kept at the Omdurman Womenโs Prison in Khartoum.
Her husband was denied access to her at all but when he heard his daughter was about to arrive, he demanded to be let him.
Wani said: โThey tried to stop me but I wanted to visit her.
โThe day she was born they didnโt allow us to see her because she had the chains on her legs.
โThey were scared that if I went in and saw her give birth in chains I would talk about it.
โWhen we went there in the morning they said thereโs an order and you canโt see her. After that we went to high level in the prison department to get permission.
โThey tried to say it was an order from high, and I said who? Do you mean the minister of the interior? I managed to get in there for the birth. After that they allowed me in and let me see her twice a week. She was wearing the chains when she gave birth.
โI kept telling them I wanted to have the birth out of prison, I could take her to the hospital where she gave birth to Martin. At first they said OK then they refused.โ
He continued: โIt feels real. Itโs good to be home.
โI was born in Sudan, but I tell people I’m from here (New Hampshire)โ.
Danielโs brother Gabriel said that Daniel and Meriam have been meeting with officials from the State Department who have come up from Washington, D.C. to speak with them.
He believes Meriam will be granted leave to remain for the time being with a view to granting her citizenship in the future.
