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Apostasy in Sudan27 Muslims on trial for apostasy in Sudan

2015-12-03 14:59

Khartoum - Some 27 Sudanese Muslims are standing trial in a Khartoum court accused of apostasy, risking the death penalty if they are convicted, their lawyer updated on Thursday. The men are accused of taking the Koran as the sole source of religious legitimacy and rejecting other Islamic texts.

"The court in Kalakla in south Khartoum has started the trial of 27 defendants brought before it under Article 126 of Sudanese criminal law, apostasy from Islam," If convicted of apostasy, the defendants could face the death penalty under the Sharia Islamic law that has been in place in Sudan since 1983.

They are also charged with disturbing the public order, Ahmed said. Ahmed said investigators told the court that police arrested five of the defendants on November 2 inside a market in the southern Khartoum neighborhood of Mayo "when they were talking to people about their conviction in the belief in the Koran and how they don't recognize" other religious texts.

He said that the remainder were arrested the next day for the same reasons. The defendants are accused of belonging to adheres strictly to the Koran and rejects the authority of the sunnah, traditions attributed to the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. Both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims rely on the sunnah as a source of Islamic law. The trial of the 27 started last Sunday and went through four sessions during which the judge heard the investigators' case against the below mentioned names before adjourned on Wednesday. Sadiq Abbaker ,Yahya Issa ,Mohamed A.Elgafar ,Khalifa Alshik.

Religious Freedom Conditions 2014–2015 Implementation of Apostasy Prohibitions

Conversion from Islam is a crime punishable by death. Suspected converts to Christianity face societal pressures, and government security personnel intimidate and sometimes torture those suspected of conversion.

Application of Shari’ah Law Provisions The government continued to apply the Shari’ah-based

provisions of the 1991 Criminal Code and Public Order laws, although there were fewer reported incidents during this reporting period. As in previous years, there were several known amputation sentences for those found guilty of theft. Dozens of Muslim and Christian women were flogged or fined for “indecent” dress. What constitutes indecent dress is not defined by law, but is left to the discretion of arresting officers and prosecuting judges. Under the guise of protecting morality, the Public Order Laws also prohibit the co-mingling of unmarried men and women, which is deemed “prostitution.”