Umma party’s VP sentenced to prison for protest

The Omdurman Emergency Court has issued prison and fine sentences against 13 members of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP), including the co-president, Dr Maryam El Sadig. The State of Emergency has been ratified by parliament – for six months.

The NUP said in a statement on Monday that the targeting of its leaders and headquarters with repression and detention will only increase its determination of the necessity of an unconditional overthrowing of the regime.

Among those sentenced to paying a fine were Rabah El Sadig, Etimad Abdallah, Mona El Tahir, Safiya El Fadul, Fatima Abdallah Nugdallah, Amna El Fadil, Mona Abdelmotaal, El Haj Hasan, Adam Abdelgadir, Mohamed Saleh, Ahmed Eisa and Jamal El Amin Abdelgadir.

The NUP co-president’s prison sentence is considered the first emergency court ruling against a leading political figure since the imposition of the State of Emergency last month. Sudanese media reported that Maryam El Sadig El Mahdi had written on her Facebook page that she would not pay the fine.

That Sunday, dozens of demonstrators were detained from the NUP offices in Omdurman while holding a protest against the State of Emergency imposed by Omar Al Bashir, in response to calls of signatories to the Declaration of Freedom and Change.

State of Emergency shortened

Yesterday, the national parliament passed the imposition of the State of Emergency in all states of Sudan for six months instead of a year, as was decreed by president Al Bashir.

The chairman of the committee under the National Legislature, Ahmed El Tijani said the committee recommended that it would last six months instead of a year.

Minister of Justice Mohamed Ahmed Salim said in the parliamentary session that the State of Emergency does not affect the sacred rights to life, stressing that he is against abuses in the implementation of the emergency measures and the humiliation of the Sudanese people.

He declared that the state is against any abuses or insult of human dignity.