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Sen. Cruz Calls On President Obama To Bring Meriam Ibrahim And Her Children Home

Speaks To Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today spoke to the Faith and Freedom Coalition "Road to Majority" Conference. He discussed the importance of standing for religious freedom at home and abroad, specifically highlighting the stories of Meriam Ibrahim and Pastor Saeed Abedini, who are imprisoned in Sudan and Iran, respectively, for being Christians.

Below is an excerpt of his remarks:

“Meriam Ibrahim is someone every elected official, every American should be speaking out for. Meriam Ibrahim is a young woman, she’s a wife, she’s a mother and she is in prison in Sudan for the crime of being Christian. Meriam has a 20 month old son, his name is Martin. And, she has a newborn baby daughter, Maya. Meriam gave birth to baby Maya just a few weeks ago, in a Sudanese prison while in leg irons. Meriam and Martin and Maya are in that prison right now today. And the government of Sudan has sentenced Meriam to 100 lashes and then hanged by the neck to die, for the simple crime of being Christian.

“You know for all of us our faith is an incredible part of who we are, and yet few, if any, of us have had our faith tested like that. Meriam has been told, ‘you will be spared this horrific sentence if only you will renounce Christ.’ And, Meriam has told her captors, 'I cannot and I will not renounce Christ.' Every one of us needs to be lifting Meriam Ibrahim up in prayer. But every bit as important, we need leadership in America. The President of the United States should stand up and speak on [behalf of] Meriam Ibrahim.

“Meriam is married to an American citizen from New Hampshire. Meriam’s two babies are American citizens and they are languishing in a prison in Sudan, waiting for their mother to be whipped and hung to death. We need to speak out against these atrocities, we need to speak with one uniformed, powerful, clarion voice for freedom and we need the President of the United States to say in no uncertain terms, ‘Send Meriam home.’”

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