The conviction of Meriam Ibrahim by a court in Khartoum on charges of apostasy and adultery was based on weak, contradictory and inconsistent claims, and contravenes Sudan's interim constitution, according to an appeal lodged by her lawyers.
Ibrahim, 27, was sentenced to death and to 100 lashes after refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Amid an international outcry, she gave birth last month while shackled to the floor in a Khartoum prison where she is being held with her newborn daughter and toddler son.
Her husband, Daniel Wani, a US citizen, told the Guardian that his wife and children were being held in inhumane conditions, and the prison authorities were "extremely tough" with her. "She spent two days in her labour blood after she gave birth. They prevented her from having a shower until the human rights committee [visited]. I won't let this horrible treatment go without punishment; I will complain against this behaviour," he said.
Guards had searched his daughter, Maya, when she was five days old, and "put their dirty hands in the food I brought them", he added.
The appeal court in Khartoum began hearing the case this week. Legal appeals in Sudan usually take months, although lawyers hope the process will be expedited due to international interest in Ibrahim's case.
A document submitted by five lawyers representing Ibrahim says the Haj Yousif criminal court in Khartoum "based its judgment on weak contradictory information which is an insufficient basis to condemn the appellant".
It quotes the 2005 interim constitution of Sudan, which says "every person shall have the right to freedom of creed and worship" and "no person shall be coerced to adopt such faith that he/she does not believe in, nor to practise rites or service to which he/she does not voluntarily consent".
It points to a "blatant contradiction" between this and Sudan's 1991 penal code, which says the renunciation of Islam is apostasy, punishable by death. This was the law cited by the court in Ibrahim's conviction.
The appeal document adds that, in any case, Ibrahim's statement to the court that she was brought up as a Christian and therefore has not renounced Islam means the penal code cannot be applied.
It says Ibrahim was not given a fair trial. "The court has treated the appellant as if she were an enemy of Islam. This has stripped the court of its independence and impartiality. This has been blatantly revealed by the grounds given for the judgment, which resembled a religious sermon. It contained commentaries and interpretations of clerics on which the court relied to convict the appellant."
The court's written judgment, issued on 11 May, was preceded by quotes from the Qur'an and cited several religious treatises.
It said the court had established through witness testimonies and documents that Ibrahim "belongs to a conservative Sudanese family [and] she was reared, brought up and has grown up within that family amidst the teachings of Islam passed by forefathers to fathers".
Ibrahim had severed links with her family, changed her name and falsely claimed she graduated from Khartoum University's school of medicine, the judgment said. "Everything which had been mentioned by the accused is incorrect," it stated.
Ibrahim had told the court she was the daughter of a Sudanese Muslim father and an Ethiopian Christian mother. Her father left when she was six, and she was brought up as a Christian by her mother. She met Wani, who moved to the US in 1998 and became an American citizen in 2005, though a friend. The couple were married at Khartoum Catholic church on 19 December 2011.
Following the judgment, the court gave Ibrahim three days to renounce Christianity. When she refused, she was sentenced to death on 15 May.
The case came to court after a man claiming to be Ibrahim's brother reported her to the police. Al-Samani al-Hadi told CNN last week that Ibrahim had been drugged with "magic potions". When the family found her "she was bewitched", he added. Her refusal to repent and return to her family should result in her execution, he said. "If she dies, we will have enforced God's word … we won't compromise on that."
According to Wani, those claiming to be her relatives want to gain access to Ibrahim's business interests, which reportedly include a hair salon, shopping mall and agricultural land.
Wani, originally from South Sudan, said the US embassy in Khartoum had initially been unwilling to help him secure his wife's release from prison. "They only became interested in the issue when it became popular nationally and internationally," he said.
A US state department official said: "The US embassy in Khartoum has been engaged with Mr Wani since June 2013 and has been in regular contact with him throughout [Ibrahim's] trial. Embassy officials most recently met with Mr Wani on 2 June. The US embassy will continue to provide Mr Wani with all appropriate consular services."
Political and religious leaders, celebrities and public figures in the US, UK and Europe have condemned Ibrahim's convictions and death sentence, and have called for her immediate release.
More than a million people have backed a call by Amnesty International for her unconditional release. "Meriam and her children continue to languish in prison, when she should never have faced any prison or charges in the first place. We hope that the international and local support and pressure will not stop until she is released," said Manar Idriss, Amnesty's Sudan researcher.
Opinion in Khartoum is divided. "If she is released by the court, she will be killed because what she did is horrible and against our culture," said one man, a journalist, who declined to be named. Her marriage to a Christian from South Sudan was unacceptable, he added.
Some criticised the sentences. "Although I think, according to Islam, Muslim women should not be allowed to marry Christian men, I think the decision of the court was too tough," said the shopkeeper Mohamed Efatih, 26.
Another man, who gave his name only as Eltayeeb, said: "How can they know about someone's faith? Faith is in our hearts. This government is not Muslim at all – they are thieves and killers. Why didn't they ask about the reasons that led her to the church?"