Immunity for Sudan Presidency is ‘against Islamic law’

Immunity from prosecution for the President or Vice-President of Sudan is against Islamic law. The Deputy Chief of Justice, Dr Abdulrahman Sharfi has directed this sharp criticism against the absolute immunity granted to the President and the First Vice-President, during a workshop on Thursday in Al Salam Rotana hotel in Khartoum.The senior government official said that exempting any person from accountability is not allowed by Islamic law, pointing out that there is no absolute immunity in Islam. He stressed that putting any person above the limits of a human being will raise him to a divine level. Sharfi acknowledged that immunity could be misused to damage and delay justice.The prosecutor for Darfur crimes, Yasser Mohamed, said that the problem in Darfur is not related to the immunity, but to the time it takes to lift them in case it is needed. He called for lifting immunity in cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity.He wants to be able to lift immunity without taking permission from the party to which the suspect belongs. The workshop recommended that the interior minister should use his powers for lifting immunity and form a committee to review the legislation.File photo: The Parliament building in KhartoumRelated: Sudan’s Attorney General to amend official immunities (4 September 2013)