Umma Party rejects death penalty for Darfuri student

The National Umma Party (NUP) strongly condemns the death sentence against student Mohamed Abdallah Baggari in a statement on Thursday.

On 29 April last year, militant National Congress Party (NCP) students attacked a meeting of the Darfur Student Association at the Sharg El Nil University in Khartoum. After the clash, a senior member of the Islamist student wing of the ruling NCP, Mohamed Awadelkarim, was found dead on the campus.

Baggari was immediately detained on charges of killing Awadelkarim. He was first brought before a judge of the Khartoum Bahri Criminal Court on 14 May 2015 without a defence lawyer present. In November, the Criminal Court of Khartoum North sentenced Baggari for manslaughter to five years’ imprisonment and the payment of ‘blood money’ to Awadelkarim’s relatives. In the appeal case however, the judge changed the verdict to the death penalty.

The verdict is “another assassination”, the statement reads. The NUP warns against the execution of the “unjust sentence”. It demands the retrial of the student, based on a transparent investigation. The party calls on “all national and international human rights organisations to intervene and protect Mohamed Baggari’s right to life, and stop the travesty in the name of justice”.

The opposition party further demands the dissolution of the Jihad [Holy war] student units at the universities. It considers these extremist students units “part of the Khartoum regime's militias, who are responsible for arousing chaos and insecurity in all parts of Sudan”.