Sudan’s justice minister forms body to probe killing of woman by police
March 9, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The justice minister of Sudan, Mohamed Bushara Dosa, revealed on Friday that his ministry has formed a committee to investigate the killing of a woman by police this week.
Dosa announced the move when he visited, on Friday, the house of the victim in Al-Deim area in central Khartoum, to give his condolences to her family.
The victim Awadia Agabna was shot dead on Tuesday in front of her house by a member of the Public Order Police (POP) during an altercation between them and her brother after they accused him of being drunk.
The police issued a widely criticised statement saying they were attacked by “drunk” members of the victim’s family and had to fire “three shots in the air” to defend themselves.
Awadia’s killing sparked protests and condemnation from human right groups who criticised the POP and its law, which aims to regulate the behaviour of men and women in accordance with Islamic laws.
The minister told the victim’s family, according to Sudan’s official news agency, SUNA, that his ministry would not hesitate to apply the law and that all people are equal before justice.
According to Dosa, the investigation committee would operate under his personal supervision.
A number of officials including the minister of interior and governor of Khartoum apologised to the victim’s family and promised investigation into the case.
The interior minister revealed this week that the officer who committed the crime had his immunity revoked and he would stand trial.
Meanwhile, the crime continued to reverberate as two politicians issued statements condemning it and blaming the authorities.
The leader of the National Umma Party (NUP), Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, said that the “brutal” killing of Awadia was not “a product of coincidence” but rather of laws allowing law enforcement authorities to do whatever they want with absolute immunity.
Yasir Arman, the secretary general of the armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), said that his group stands in solidarity with Awadia’s family.
He said Awadia was “assassinated by the [ruling] National Congress Party’s leaders who invest in hatred and racism and who established political and media platforms to spread them until they infected state authorities including the police and security services”.
(ST)