Mariam Ibrahim, Ethiopian Sudanese woman sentenced to death for her Christian faith, met with Catholic pope in Italy

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Pope Francis has met Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death for converting to Christianity, just hours after she arrived in Rome following a successful appeal.

Ms Ibrahim was convicted of “apostasy” and made to give birth with her legs chained together in jail before she was finally released last month in the wake of an international display of outrage.

She and her family had been stuck inside the US embassy in Sudan for a month and were expected to travel at some point to America, where her husband has citizenship.

But this morning TV footage showed the family arriving at Rome’s Ciampino airport alongside the Italian deputy foreign minister, having fled Sudan in an Italian government jet.

The Vatican said Pope Francis had wanted to call attention to the plight of someone who had been persecuted for her religious beliefs.

This afternoon he held what a spokesperson described as “a very affectionate” meeting with Ms Ibrahim, her husband Daniel Wani and their two children.

Reverend Federico Lombardi said the Pope “thanked her for her faith and courage, and she thanked him for his prayer and solidarity” during the half-hour meeting.

Italy worked with the US to secure Ms Ibrahim’s release, and the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, mentioned her case in his speech to inaugurate Italy’s six-month European Union presidency earlier this month.