Sudan quashes death sentence for woman who killed husband after rape

On Tuesday the appeal court in Khartoum quashed the death sentence of Noura Hussein who was convicted of murdering her husband and commuted it to a five-year term of imprisonment and payment of blood money on the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Lawyer El Fateh Hussein, a member of the defence team, told Radio Dabanga that the court annulled the conviction under article 130 of premeditated murder.

He explained that the prison term will be calculated from the date Hussein entered the jail on May 3, 2017, in addition to payment of a blood money of SDG 337,500 (*$12,000).

Noura Hussein (19) was forcably married to her husband and fled to relatives before the marriage was consummated. When she returned, her husband raped her with the help of a number of his relatives. She then killed him.

International outrage

Hussein’s sentence prompted a chorus of international outrage, which brought the case to the attention of the world media.

The No Oppression of Women Initiative welcomed the ruling of the Court of Appeal as a victory for justice.

Dr Ihsan Fegeiri, the general coordinator of the initiative expressed in an interview with Radio Dabanga, her satisfaction with the abolition of the death sentence against hussein.

She said that Hussein’s death sentence did not consider her psychological condition, pointing out that she was the victim of forced marriage, underage marriage, and marital rape.

She expressed her appreciation to all international and regional actors who had declared their solidarity with Nora, explaining that the Court of Appeal’s ruling was in response to international solidarity.

She also praised the role of the defence and its follow-up of the case until the ruling of the Court of Appeal.

* Based on the indicative US Dollar rate quoted by the Central Bank of Sudan