FRC, 40 Groups Rally Outside White House to Save Meriam Ibrahim

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Jun 12, 2014, 04:44 ET

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This morning at a rally outside the White House, Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), and a coalition of 40 groups to call on President Obama to break his silence and immediately offer safe haven to Meriam Ibrahim, a Sudanese Christian who was sentenced to death for the "crime" of converting from Islam.

Meriam languishes in a notoriously rank Sudanese prison with her 20-month-old son and newborn daughter. Over 42,000 people have signed a WhiteHouse.gov petition asking President Obama to grant her expedited save haven in the United States.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins made the following comments:

"President Obama has been trying for weeks to dodge the Meriam Ibrahim story. But he'll have a tough time doing that today as crowds of Americans gathered on his front lawn to protest the President's silence. Thousands of miles away, two tiny children, born to an American dad, cower in a filthy, bug-infested Khartoum prison, their mother chained to a prison cell wall. Sentenced to execution for her Christian faith, Meriam continues to hope that their cries will be heard by the United States.

"Yet while liberals drone on about the 'war on women' and the President trades five terrorists for a purported Army deserter, this small family continues to hit brick wall after brick wall in their appeals for diplomatic help. The situation is even more desperate now, as some British papers report that the 27-year-old wife of American Daniel Wani could be flogged in days if her appeal is thrown out.

"Still, President Obama, who has never needed a shot of positive PR more, sits on his hands-refusing even to release a simple statement condemning the Sudanese government or to leverage the hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid. This administration needs to find its voice for two American children who will die in a prison with an infant mortality rate of one per day. I'm glad to hear that we leave no one behind. But Mr. President, it's women and children first.

"We urge the President to stand up for America's longstanding ideals of religious freedom and human rights and demand Sudan release Meriam and her children," concluded Perkins.

Video of Tony Perkins remarks at this morning's rally: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa31G5V60K8

Petition to President Obama: www.frc.org/sudan

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080930/FRCLOGO

SOURCE Family Research Council