While liberals whine about puritanical Christians, there are truly dangerous religions to fear in the real world, particularly radical Islam.

This story is just one more shocking display of its evil depths.

Eight months pregnant Meriam Ibrahim, pictured above with husband Daniel Wani, is being shackled in a Sudanese prison for the crime of being a Christian. Her 20-month-old son Martin, also pictured above, is imprisoned with her.

Ibrahim has been sentenced to death by hanging, likely to be put on hold until her preborn baby is weaned, according to local law.

Ibrahim has been accused of apostasy, even though she has never been Muslim. Even so, what does that matter? Of course, a person should be free to choose whatever religion s/he wants, and whenever.

Ibrahim is also accused of committing adultery for marrying a Christian. For that her sentence is 100 lashes.

Here’s the story, according to The Daily Mail. It is a little hodgepodge, but all the who, what, where, when and why’s are in there:

Ibrahim , 27, [is a] doctor and owner of shopping mall….

Her feet are swollen from being shackled to the floor and she has been left bleeding….

Daniel flew to Sudan and this week saw her and Martin first time since she was thrown in jail in September.

Daniel, a biochemist, was born in war-torn Sudan but fled to the U.S. in 1998. He settled in Manchester, New Hampshire with his brother Gabriel.

Daniel says Martin is a U.S. citizen, but State Department would not confirm the boy’s legal status.

Daniel, who has muscular dystrophy, is not allowed to take custody of Martin because he is Christian and the boy is considered by law to be a Muslim.

Her father left her family when she was six and her Christian mother divorced him. But judges have decided that she should be worshipping Islam because of her father….

Initially Daniel studied at the University of New Hampshire and became a biochemical engineer while Gabriel worked two jobs to support him and to send money back home.

Daniel became a U.S. citizen in 2005 and his brother followed suit the following year….

They have three sisters including one who is a high ranking official in the Sudanese government.

Daniel got to know Meriam thanks to another of their sisters who knew her through the small Christian church they attended in Khartoum.

The sister played matchmaker and got them talking on Skype, leading to Daniel flying from his home in Manchester to Sudan to marry Meriam in 2011.

Daniel made a number of visits to Sudan to make the arrangements for his wife and Martin to come to America and on the last one, in June last year, things went awry.

Gabriel said: ‘There was a man who claimed he was Meriam’s brother, but she had never seen him before. He went to Meriam’s house and wanted to know why she was not a Muslim. He went to the police and accused Daniel of kidnapping his sister – he meant Meriam.

‘Daniel suffers from muscular dystrophy and is in a wheelchair so said it was impossible for him to kidnap her. He and Meriam were arrested and thrown in jail. Daniel was released but Meriam has been in jail since September…. [Photo below is of Daniel holding Martin in Sudan last week.]

‘Under Shariah (Islamic) law in Sudan, if your father was a Muslim then you are a Muslim, even if your mother was a Christian.

‘The first time Meriam knew about her father being a Muslim was when this happened.’…

Daniel has been highly critical of the response of the US embassy in Sudan and claimed that he was given no help until his wife’s story made international headlines.

Gabriel claimed that his brother went to the embassy in Khartoum three times and was told each time that the American ambassador was ‘too busy’ to see him.

Daniel has also been offended that he could have to submit to a DNA test to prove that his son is his.

Martin was born in Sudan and may be entitled to a U.S. passport because Daniel in a naturalized American citizen, though the process is complicated and not certain.

In her daily briefing on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that consular assistance may be provided to Meriam but it was not clear how. She said: ‘We have seen reports identifying him (Daniel) as a US citizen.

‘We don’t have any Privacy Act waiver, so I don’t have any more details I can share.’

‘Such testing is entirely voluntary.  Submitting to testing does not guarantee the subsequent issuance of a passport.’

From RedState.com:

If the Obama Administration’s State Department refuses to take decisive action and fight for the freedom of these young Americans, it would be a dereliction of its diplomatic duty.

No one should face execution merely because of their religious beliefs.  Sadly, what Meriam faces today is a wave of growing persecution of Christians….

When we speak out, we can truly make a difference in these cases; but if we are silent, Christians will continue to suffer and die for their faith.

Thankfully, despite the seeming reluctance of the State Department, the American people are speaking out with a loud voice.  In just over 48 hours, over 150,000 people have signed a petition to free Meriam and her American son.  Sign the petition at ACLJ’s BeHeard Project.

That number is now over 200,000. Please sign. And express your outrage on Twitter (@StateDept, @BarackObama; hashtag options #SaveMeriam #Meriam #MeriamIbrahim #Sudan #Africa #Christian) and Facebook.

[Photos via Daily Mail]