‘Apostasy article needs review’: Sudan’s Justice Minister

The Justice Minister said that the articles of apostasy, which is punishable with death by stoning, in the Sudanese legislation needs review because it contradicts the Islamic law and international conventions. He suggested this to be done in cooperation with the Islamic Fiqh Academy, an international body of Muslim experts.

Minister Awad El Hassan El Nur further reported to journalists in Khartoum on Wednesday that approximately 3,000 people are held in detention in prisons for debts to the state. He claimed that Sudan pays SDG800 million ($1.3 million) a month for their detention.

He said that there are 837 youth held in prison for debts less than SDG20,000 ($3,260) each.

El Nur also justified the security measures that have been taken against the student demonstrations in the Sudanese cities in the past months. There was an “objective justification” for the arrest of a number of students as maintaining national security was required.

As for their detentions, he said that the Ministry of Justice could not interfere before the end of the custody of detainees to release them.

Apostasy

A Sudanese case of apostasy caused international condemnations in May 2014, when a Khartoum court sentenced the then pregnant Ibrahim to death for apostasy, after she had refused to renounce her Christian faith. She was raised by her Christian mother, but was born a Muslim. Institutions all over the world denounced the conviction.

Ibrahim was released from prison after an appeal court ruled the lower court’s death sentence to be unfounded. Ibrahim and her family managed to fly to Italy on 24 July.

Lawyers representing Maryam Yahya Ibrahim planned to take her case to the Sudanese Constitutional Court.