Now she faces 100 lashes and execution for marrying a US Christian.
This is the first picture of the mother-of-two who has been sentenced to death in Sudan for being a Christian - from inside the prison where she is being held.
In an exclusive photo, Meriam Ibrahim puts on a brave face as she holds her newborn baby girl Maya who was born in the jail where she has been locked up for eight months.
But behind the smile there is a different story - Meriam's eyes have dark rings under them, her arms are alarmingly thin and her face looks gaunt.
Gone is the radiant glow from the day she married husband Daniel Wani, a U. S. citizen, and in its place is a woman struggling with the awful fate awaiting her.
In an exclusive photo, Meriam Ibrahim puts on a brave face as she holds her newborn baby girl Maya. Maya was born in the jail where Meriam has been locked up for eight months for marrying a Christian. Picture comes as it emerged Meriam's legs were chained as she gave birth. The 27-year-old gave birth five days early after months shackled to floor. Her husband, U.S. citizen Daniel Wani, was pictured with girl in barbaric jail in Khartoum just hours after the birth. He was initially refused entry to jail but was eventually allowed in with lawyer. The doctor was sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity after marrying Mr Wani, who lives in New Hampshire. She will never see Maya grow up as she refuses to renounce Christianity.
Lawyer told MailOnline: 'The family are taking time to enjoy the birth before they fight injustice'
Meriam has spent the past four months shackled to the floor in a disease-ridden jail after being sentenced to death by hanging earlier this month for converting from Islam to Christianity and marrying a Christian man.
Her lawyer Mohaned Mustafa Elnour said the couple are 'happy and proud' of their new arrival and that it has brought a momentary ray of light to an otherwise bleak and desperate situation.
Mr Elnour: 'This is a special moment for them. Daniel is delighted that he is able to see his new daughter so soon.
'The family are taking some time to enjoy the birth before they return to fighting the injustice of Meriam's sentence.'
Mr Wani, a 27-year-old biochemist who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, also got the chance to hold his 20-month-old son Martin, who is being held in the barbaric prison with his mother.
The photo is especially poignant as Meriam will never see her beautiful daughter grow up. She is set to hang sometime in the next two years as the authorities said she will be executed when she has finished weaning Maya.
And before the birth, Meriam made the defiant claim that she would rather die than give up her faith.
In a heart-wreching conversation with her husband during a rare prison visit, Meriam told him: 'If they want to execute me then they should go ahead and do it because I'm not going to change my faith.'
An Islamic Sharia judge said she could be spared the death penalty if she publicly renounced her faith and becomes a Muslim once more.
Culled from: Daily Mail UK
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