Rights group urges to abrogate Sudan’s Islamic laws

September 25th, 2010 — In concerted attack on the rights of people and their sacred values, the president announced he intended to make as the only source of legislation the Islamic Shari’a Law that had been thus far politicized by his Islamist rule against popular Islam in Sudan, if the South would become a separate state from the North by the upcoming Referendum in January 2011.

The enforceable Interim Constitution of The Sudan came about painstakingly by wide participation of the country’s national forces; still some of its key provisions have been strongly opposed, especially those contradicting the international human rights’ Bill of Rights, as embodied in the Constitution in full agreement with Sudanese sacred values; but evidently the Bill of Rights have been grossly violated by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in the national elections of April 2010. The NCP rigged up the elections to obtain full seats of the parliament in the absence of opposition candidates. The pro-government judiciary rejected the opposition’s dispute over the elections. Thus, the president is now fully empowered to enforce further violation of the Constitution by additional NCP amendments.

SHRO-Cairo rejects all together the government’s intention to gain worldly benefits in the name of Islam by further violations of the Constitution, including severer penalties to terrorize the People of Sudan, to restrict freedoms, and to abuse the Shari’a Law despite well-versed controversies by Popular Islam on the ongoing abusive implementation.

The Sudanese have already experienced the government’s dehumanizing policies and practices since the Islamist military coup on the 30ieth of June 1989 up to this day. The Sudan democratic forces, however, never ceased from putting the pressure on the government to abrogate the September Laws 1983 that constituted the main anti-democratic arsenal of Islamist laws, as well as additional violating provisions to the Bill of Rights. The implemented laws increased gender flogging; aggressive assaults on the freedoms of peaceful assembly and voluntary organization; brutalities against the Darfuri activists, students’ leagues in universities; and security attacks on the Umma Party headquarters and other national forces.

By the same laws, the government escalated climates of hate against the South Referendum and intimidated southerners in the North if they would vote for separation since they might risk losing Sudanese nationality and subsequent rights in the North. By the same laws, the government continued to arrest or to imprison arbitrarily human rights activists, closed down their centers, and sequestrated by State Security Law their legal funds to silence their human rights’ activities. Still, the government never ceased defaming with misleading information active Sudanese human rights organizations by dishonorable media campaigns in pro-government press and internet locations.

– The Sudan Human Rights Organization Cairo condemns in the strongest terms possible the most recent attack on the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO) and the unjust trial, imprisonment, and fine of Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam by the notorious September-inherited criminal law and the law on voluntary work.
– SHRO-Cairo renews persistent claims to the Government of Sudan to abrogate September Laws and related enforceable legislation.
– The Organization ask the government to abrogate immediately the Criminal Law, the Law on Voluntary Work, and the Public Order Law, and other State Security Laws by which provisions women are “legally” dehumanized and flogged.
– We ask all government officials, including the president, to stop announcing intimidating statements in the name of religion against the People of Sudan. As abusive policies of the NCP politicized version of Shari’a Law, these statements stand right against the true religion of Islam.
– We ask the government to end repression of people, including transgression of religious freedoms.
– The Government of Sudan must not tamper with the Southerners’ right of self-determination.
– The Government of Sudan must set free all non-governmental human rights organizations.
– The Government of Sudan must set free the human rights’ activist Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam. Immediately!