River Nile court dismisses case against three women protesters

Three women charged with participating in the demonstrations against the Sudanese regime, have been released Atbara Emergency Court in northern Sudan’s River Nile state for a lack of evidence on Monday.

Witnesses told Radio Dabanga that police in Atbara held them near one of the areas that were specified for demonstrations yesterday, prior to the start of the protest.

The women were immediately brought to the Emergency Court, which eventually dismissed the case and ordered their release because of a lack of evidence.

Also on Sunday, Atbara witnessed a mass demonstration of unemployed graduates and students, in conjunction with the ‘March of the Unemployed Graduates’ in Greater Khartoum the same day.

Emergency Courts

On March 12, Omdurman Women’s Prison in Sudan released a large number of young women who were held during demonstrations over the past weeks. That day the Court of Appeal in Khartoum overturned the verdicts of El Imtidad Emergency Court against nine young women. They were sentenced to one-month imprisonment and 20 lashes after being detained while demonstrating in Khartoum’s Burri district.

President Omar Al Bashir declared a nationwide State of Emergency last month, and established Emergency Courts to try people who are accused of violating the emergency decrees.

Lawyers have deemed the State of Emergency and the courts a violation of the Sudanese constitution. Articles 210 and 211 restrict the country in declaring a State of Emergency, except on the condition the country passes through an exceptional state that leads to instability, war, an invasion into the country, or natural disasters, defence lawyers for the protesters, Muez Hadra, told this station.

Hundreds of people have been tried in the Emergency Courts in Omdurman, Khartoum and Khartoum-North for participating in the demonstrations. Many of them are dismissed owing to a lack of evidence.