It has been billed as high-minded prosecution to uphold the strict rules of Shariah law. But MailOnline can reveal that the real reasons why a pregnant woman in Sudan has been sentenced to death for being a Christian are all too human. Jealousy and greed drove Meriam Ibrahim’s own family to file a lawsuit against her alleging apostasy and adultery which led to the criminal charges she now faces, it is claimed. Scroll down for video . Hang: . Meriam, a eight-months-pregnant doctor, was sentenced to death last . week for marrying Daniel. Authorities rule she is Muslim because her . father - who abandoned her when he was six, worshiped Islam, even though . she was brought up by her Christian mother . Her half brother and half sister - who had not seen her for decades - tracked her down so they could get rid of her and take over her successful general store, Meriam’s lawyers alleged. The legal team for Meriam, whose husband is an American citizen, are being paid for by Justice Centre Sudan, a US-based non-profit that campaigns for human rights in the African country. A spokesman for the organization said: ‘We believe the family filed the lawsuit because they want to gain control of the business. ‘If Meriam stays in jail she could lose everything and they could be the ones to benefit.’ Heartbreaking: This image captures the first time Daniel Wani was allowed to see Martin and Meriam a few weeks ago. He has hardly been allowed to see her . The spokeswoman added that if Meriam is forced to leave Sudan then her half brother and half sister may well take over the business as well. It is not clear if, under Sudanese law, such a scheme would work as intended, or if a business owner would be allowed to sell it on. But it gives a disturbing new insight into the reasons why an eight-months pregnant woman has been thrown in a prison cell in shackles with her 20-month old boy whilst expecting her second child - and become the center of an international outcry. The heartbreaking situation was illustrated by exclusive pictures obtained by MailOnline which showed Meriam’s husband Daniel, who is in a wheelchair, holding Martin under the close watch of prison guards with rifles slung over their shoulders. Rotten . care: Martin is given a drink by prison guards. Daniel is not allowed . to take custody of Martin because the authorities have ruled that the . toddler is Muslim . Desperate: Daniel and Martin sit with their lawyer, Mr Mohand, during a visit. Daniel is wheelchair bound as he suffers from muscular dystrophy . He had flown in from his home in Manchester, New Hampshire in a desperate bid to free his wife and son from their terrible fate. Meriam, 27, was thrown in jail in September and earlier this month was sentenced to death for adultery for marrying Daniel, a Christian who has US citizenship. The visit to the Khartoum prison was was the first time that Daniel was able to see his wife since she was imprisoned in September. Judges in the city have sentenced Mariam to death and 100 lashes as the Sudanese court refuses to recognize her 2011 marriage to Daniel because her father was a Muslim. The Justice Centre Sudan spokeswoman said: ‘When Meriam’s father left her mother when she was six he went to another part of Sudan and had another family. ‘Meriam did not know about this. She did not even know her father had died until many years after the event. Nor did she know he was a Muslim. ‘Meriam’s mother died in 2012 and by then she had still not heard from her half brothers and sisters. ‘There were years and years that went by when that side of the family did not want a relationship with her. Adultery: . Meriam has also been sentenced to 100 lashes because the court did not . recognize her marriage to Christian Daniel Wani, a naturalized U.S. citizen, who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire . Outrage: More than 50 protesters gathered outside the Sudanese court last week where Meriam was sentenced . ‘Recently Meriam has been running a successful business in Khartoum. It’s a general store in a shopping mall and she has been selling some Ethiopian items as her mother was from there. ‘They’ve been doing really well and the business was growing and Daniel has been helping her out. ‘Her half brother and half sister must have heard about this and worked out she was a relative of theirs because of her name. ‘The first thing Meriam knew about them was when her half brother and half sister filed the lawsuit. ‘She was arrested from her home and thrown in jail with no warning.’ This comes as John Kerry faced renewed calls to act on behalf of the American citizen whose heavily pregnant wife, son and unborn child are locked up in jail in Sudan - as MailOnline reveals the family’s emotional reunion behind bars. Cruel: . Martin, above, is pictured biting his lip unaware of the terrible fate . his mother, Meriam, faces after being sentenced to hang for refusing to . consider herself a Christian. His family claim he is American because . his father has been granted U.S. citizenship . Love: . Meriam and Daniel met and married in Khartoum. He was planning to bring . her back to their modest home in Manchester, NH, last year but the . paperwork was held up and she was arrested . Two senators have sent the Secretary of State a second letter demanding that more be done to help Daniel Wani and Meriam Ibrahim, who is awaiting a death sentence for marrying her Christian husband. New Hampshire's Senator Kelly Ayotte and fellow Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri said they are concerned that the government is wasting time with bureaucracy. In their letter to Kerry they said that the holdup was ‘preventing needed high-level engagement’ and that he had to intervene personally. The senators had already written a first letter but have grown frustrated and demanded Kerry do something again. Meanwhile in exclusive pictures obtained by MailOnline, Daniel, who is in a wheelchair, can be seen holding Martin under the close watch of prison guards with rifles slung over their shoulders after he flew from Manchester, New Hampshire in a desperate bid to free the 20-months-old and his wife from their terrible fate. Meriam - who is eight-months pregnant - was thrown in jail in September and earlier this month was sentenced to death for adultery for marrying Daniel, who has US citizenship. The heartbreaking visit to the Khartoum prison was was the first time that Daniel was able to see his wife since she was imprisoned in September.
The family of Meriam Ibrahim schemed to get her put in prison for apostasy and adultery claim the pregnant mother's lawyers .
Her half-brother and half-sister wanted to steal her successful general store .
Meriam Ibrahim , 27, sentenced to death last week for refusing to renounce her Christian faith in front of Sudanese court which considers her a Muslim .
A doctor and owner of shopping mall, she was also charged with adultery for marrying Christian Daniel Wani and sentenced to 100 lashes .
Meriam - who is eight months pregnant - is being held with her 20-month-old son, Martin, in a women's jail in Khartoum .
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 .
It has been billed as high-minded prosecution to uphold the strict rules of Shariah law. But MailOnline can reveal that the real reasons why a pregnant woman in Sudan has been sentenced to death for being a Christian are all too human. Jealousy and greed drove Meriam Ibrahim’s own family to file a lawsuit against her alleging apostasy and adultery which led to the criminal charges she now faces, it is claimed. Scroll down for video . Hang: . Meriam, a eight-months-pregnant doctor, was sentenced to death last . week for marrying Daniel. Authorities rule she is Muslim because her . father - who abandoned her when he was six, worshiped Islam, even though . she was brought up by her Christian mother . Her half brother and half sister - who had not seen her for decades - tracked her down so they could get rid of her and take over her successful general store, Meriam’s lawyers alleged. The legal team for Meriam, whose husband is an American citizen, are being paid for by Justice Centre Sudan, a US-based non-profit that campaigns for human rights in the African country. A spokesman for the organization said: ‘We believe the family filed the lawsuit because they want to gain control of the business. ‘If Meriam stays in jail she could lose everything and they could be the ones to benefit.’ Heartbreaking: This image captures the first time Daniel Wani was allowed to see Martin and Meriam a few weeks ago. He has hardly been allowed to see her . The spokeswoman added that if Meriam is forced to leave Sudan then her half brother and half sister may well take over the business as well. It is not clear if, under Sudanese law, such a scheme would work as intended, or if a business owner would be allowed to sell it on. But it gives a disturbing new insight into the reasons why an eight-months pregnant woman has been thrown in a prison cell in shackles with her 20-month old boy whilst expecting her second child - and become the center of an international outcry. The heartbreaking situation was illustrated by exclusive pictures obtained by MailOnline which showed Meriam’s husband Daniel, who is in a wheelchair, holding Martin under the close watch of prison guards with rifles slung over their shoulders. Rotten . care: Martin is given a drink by prison guards. Daniel is not allowed . to take custody of Martin because the authorities have ruled that the . toddler is Muslim . Desperate: Daniel and Martin sit with their lawyer, Mr Mohand, during a visit. Daniel is wheelchair bound as he suffers from muscular dystrophy . He had flown in from his home in Manchester, New Hampshire in a desperate bid to free his wife and son from their terrible fate. Meriam, 27, was thrown in jail in September and earlier this month was sentenced to death for adultery for marrying Daniel, a Christian who has US citizenship. The visit to the Khartoum prison was was the first time that Daniel was able to see his wife since she was imprisoned in September. Judges in the city have sentenced Mariam to death and 100 lashes as the Sudanese court refuses to recognize her 2011 marriage to Daniel because her father was a Muslim. The Justice Centre Sudan spokeswoman said: ‘When Meriam’s father left her mother when she was six he went to another part of Sudan and had another family. ‘Meriam did not know about this. She did not even know her father had died until many years after the event. Nor did she know he was a Muslim. ‘Meriam’s mother died in 2012 and by then she had still not heard from her half brothers and sisters. ‘There were years and years that went by when that side of the family did not want a relationship with her. Adultery: . Meriam has also been sentenced to 100 lashes because the court did not . recognize her marriage to Christian Daniel Wani, a naturalized U.S. citizen, who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire . Outrage: More than 50 protesters gathered outside the Sudanese court last week where Meriam was sentenced . ‘Recently Meriam has been running a successful business in Khartoum. It’s a general store in a shopping mall and she has been selling some Ethiopian items as her mother was from there. ‘They’ve been doing really well and the business was growing and Daniel has been helping her out. ‘Her half brother and half sister must have heard about this and worked out she was a relative of theirs because of her name. ‘The first thing Meriam knew about them was when her half brother and half sister filed the lawsuit. ‘She was arrested from her home and thrown in jail with no warning.’ This comes as John Kerry faced renewed calls to act on behalf of the American citizen whose heavily pregnant wife, son and unborn child are locked up in jail in Sudan - as MailOnline reveals the family’s emotional reunion behind bars. Cruel: . Martin, above, is pictured biting his lip unaware of the terrible fate . his mother, Meriam, faces after being sentenced to hang for refusing to . consider herself a Christian. His family claim he is American because . his father has been granted U.S. citizenship . Love: . Meriam and Daniel met and married in Khartoum. He was planning to bring . her back to their modest home in Manchester, NH, last year but the . paperwork was held up and she was arrested . Two senators have sent the Secretary of State a second letter demanding that more be done to help Daniel Wani and Meriam Ibrahim, who is awaiting a death sentence for marrying her Christian husband. New Hampshire's Senator Kelly Ayotte and fellow Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri said they are concerned that the government is wasting time with bureaucracy. In their letter to Kerry they said that the holdup was ‘preventing needed high-level engagement’ and that he had to intervene personally. The senators had already written a first letter but have grown frustrated and demanded Kerry do something again. Meanwhile in exclusive pictures obtained by MailOnline, Daniel, who is in a wheelchair, can be seen holding Martin under the close watch of prison guards with rifles slung over their shoulders after he flew from Manchester, New Hampshire in a desperate bid to free the 20-months-old and his wife from their terrible fate. Meriam - who is eight-months pregnant - was thrown in jail in September and earlier this month was sentenced to death for adultery for marrying Daniel, who has US citizenship. The heartbreaking visit to the Khartoum prison was was the first time that Daniel was able to see his wife since she was imprisoned in September.
apostasy and adultery which led to the criminal eight-months-pregnant doctor, was sentenced to death last . week for marrying Daniel. by her Christian mother . Her half brother and take over her successful general store, Meriam’s lawyers alleged. The legal team for Meriam, whose Daniel and Martin sit with their lawyer, Mr son from their terrible fate. Meriam, 27, was thrown in jail in September and earlier this month was sentenced to death for adultery for his wife since she was imprisoned in September. and 100 lashes as the Sudanese court refuses to of Sudan and had another family. ‘Meriam did not did she know he was a Muslim. ‘Meriam’s mother marriage to Christian Daniel Wani, a naturalized U.S. citizen, who lives in Manchester, New It’s a general store in a shopping mall and she being sentenced to hang for refusing to . after he flew from Manchester, New Hampshire in a wife from their terrible fate. Meriam - who is eight-months pregnant - was thrown in jail in Khartoum prison was was the first time that