U.S. religious freedom body urges Sudan to abolish laws against apostasy
March 3, 2020 (KHARTOUM) – United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on the Sudanese transitional government to repeal legal dispositions punishing blasphemy and people who leave a faith
USCIRF Chair Tony Perkins and Commissioner Anurima Bhargava were in Sudan from February 26 to March 1 where they held a series of meeting with the Sudanese officials including Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, Minister of Religious Affairs Nasr al-din Mufreh, religious leaders, civil society groups, and women’s rights activists.
In a statement issued from Washington after their return from Khartoum, Perkins recognized the “desire to bring a new era of openness” in Khartoum following the regime change in Sudan that ended a 30-year regime of religious repression in Sudan.
“It is heartening to see a spirit of cautious optimism infuse so many of our conversations with government, religious, and civil society representatives in Sudan,” he said.
“At the same time, we understand that the country’s challenges are deeply-rooted, and we urge the leadership to move quickly to turn that optimism into tangible and meaningful reforms for all people across Sudan—such as acting to formally repeal Article 126 of the 1991 penal code, which outlaws apostasy,” further said the USCIRF chair.
Article 126 of the Sudanese Penal Code, on apostasy, provides that any Muslim who declares publicly that he/she has adopted any religion other than Islam commits the crime of apostasy and is punishable with the death penalty.
The provision waives the death penalty if the convicted person reconverts to Islam.
In 2014, Sudanese authorities sentenced to death Meriam Yahia Ibrahim for committing apostasy. Her case triggered an international campaign for her freedom and calls to abolish Article 126 of the criminal code.
For her part, Bhargava voiced their support to the efforts of the Sudanese transitional government to ensure religious freedom in the country.
“We stand with the transitional government as it journeys on the long road ahead to extend full religious freedom to Sudan’s richly diverse and treasured peoples of various faiths and traditions,”
USCIRF will issue its detailed findings from the visit and recommendations for U.S. policy when it releases its 2020 Annual Report on April 28.
In December 2019, the US State Department removed Sudan from the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) on Religious Freedom, 20 years after its designation.
Since Sudan has been added to a Special Watch List (SWL) for countries where the religious freedom remains fragile but the violation does not rise to the statutory level requiring CPC designation.
(ST)