Sudan’s Opposition party concludes deal to rescue student from execution

January 5, 2018(KHARTOUM) – The opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) said on Friday it concluded a compromise to secure a pardon for a student cadre of the party, facing a death sentence.

The court is expected to be formally informed of the deal on Sunday, in preparation for the release of the convicted student.

Last September, a court sentenced to death by hanging Asim Omer a student of the University of Khartoum. Omer who is also a member of the Independent Student Conference, the SCoP student arm, has been convicted of killing a policeman during student protests in April 2016.

“An initiative has reached positive and acceptable developments for us and for the family of the deceased. We hope to put an end to this issue in the near future and that the arrested student returns to his family and resume his studies,” said the SCoP spokesperson Mohamed Hassan Arabi.

Arabi said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune that the meeting, which reached the settlement on Friday evening, was attended by four representatives of the party: Abdel Rahman Yousef and Abdel Kabir Adam and Ibrahim Sheikh and al-Fatih Omer al-Sayed.

Also, were present at the meeting, the family of the student Asim Omer, and many personalities including the former Chief Justice Obeid Haj Ali, MP Mahmoud Abdel-Jabbar and the President of the “Reform Now” Ghazi Salah al-din along with a delegation from the Commissioner for Human Rights.

Arabi pointed to several initiatives based on Sudanese customs and traditions, in order to preserve the life of the student facing execution.

According to the Sudanese Criminal Code, the family of the victim can waive their right to retribution and accept monetary compensation for the murderer in exchange for a sum of money agreed between the parties

Asim Omer was arrested on May 2, 2016. He was accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a police truck near the University of Khartoum, which resulted in the death of the policeman several days after his transfer to the hospital.

(ST)