U.S. Aid Worker Could Face Death Penalty In Sudan

U.S. Aid Worker Could Face Death Penalty In Sudan

A U.S. aid worker who participated in a peaceful protest in Sudan could face the death penalty as early as Tuesday.

His pregnant wife is watching and waiting helplessly from their hometown of Oregon as this unfortunate incident unfolds.

He helped rebuild Catholic churches after angry mobs in his native Sudan burned them down, but now, as his pregnant wife watches helplessly from their home in Oregon, Rudwan Dawod is fighting for his life in Khartoum.

The Sudanese activist and permanent U.S. resident could be sentenced to death as early as Tuesday on terrorism charges, accusations his supporters say are trumped up to discourage non-violent protesters like Dawod from speaking out against the government. Dawod, who worked as a project director for Sudan Sunrise, a charity founded by the late NBA star Manute Bol, was arrested in Khartoum on July 3 while visiting relatives and attempting to renew his Sudanese passport.

Tom Pritchard, the organization’s executive director, said Dawod was taken into custody while participating in a peaceful protest against the ongoing violence in the region and the Sudanese government’s austerity policies.

Dawod — who faces charges of terrorism and criminal organization, which can carry the death penalty — met his wife Nancy Williams while the two were working as volunteers at Sudan Sunrise in 2009. They later married, and the Oregon couple is now expecting their first child, whom they will name Sudan, in September.

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