Lawyers warn against application of repealed oppressive law in Sudan
August 17, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – Lawyers in Sudan warned on Wednesday against the application of the repealed Public Order law under a new name, saying its enforcement means violating freedoms and human rights under the pretext of security and public order.
On August 10, the Director General of Police issued a decision to establish the Community Police Service.
Two days after, the police spokesman said that the goal of this decision is to ensure the success of the police to fulfil its duties.
In statements to Blue Nile TV on Tuesday, he said they were keen to overcome the mistakes of the past. He added that any policeman who seeks to enforce the rules of the abolished Public Order law will be held accountable and punished.
The Khartoum State Public Order Law of 1996 gave the police extensive discretionary powers to arrest people and targeted women, particularly. Many women were beaten and arrested for their dress or vending in the streets.
The repressive law was repealed by former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok in November 2019. The decision was hailed as a positive step to protect women’s rights as it abolished humiliating flogging punishment.
However, the transitional government did not repeal several articles in the criminal law of 1991 related to alcohol and so-called “morality” that served as the legal basis for the public order police to punish women.
The announcement of the Community Police Service raised waves of concern and indignation, as such a law cannot be issued by a police director. But more importantly, it represents a major setback for human rights and freedoms by the military regime.
“The announced community police is a measure aimed at imposing further restrictions on freedoms because the morality articles are still in force in the Sudanese Criminal Code and have not been repealed. They do not need a specialized police department to implement them,” Muntaser Abdallah, a prominent member of the Emergency Lawyers group, told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.
He further said that the purpose of a police community department is to “violate the people’s privacy through house raids, which is illegal”.
For the formerly ruling coalition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), the coup leaders seek to restore all the oppressive mechanisms the former regime used to control the country.
“The leaders of the October 25 coup are striving to re-establish the tools that were used by the regime of ousted President Omer al-Bashir to suppress the people,” a member of the FFC Legal Committee, Moez Hadra, told Sudan Tribune.
Hadra added that the Public Order law has been cancelled and there is no return to the so-called public order police because the criminal law is applicable and there is no need for a new name.
(ST)