Showing posts with label Sudan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sudan. Show all posts

Monday, September 07, 2020

Sudan Agrees To Separation of Religion and State As Part of Peace Deal

 Voice of America reports:

Sudan's transitional government has agreed in principle to separate religion and state after three decades of Islamic rule in the country.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Abdel-Aziz Adam al-Hilu, the leader of the rebel SPLM-North faction, signed a declaration of principles in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Thursday evening [Sept. 3] that says, "The state shall not establish an official religion. No citizen shall be discriminated against based on their religion."

Christianity Today adds further details:

The agreement was signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, four days after a more inclusive peace deal was signed with a coalition of rebel groups in the Sudan Revolutionary Front in Juba, South Sudan.

The Juba agreement established a national commission for religious freedom, which guarantees the rights of Christian communities in Sudan’s southern regions.

Friday, July 17, 2020

Sudan Liberalizes Its Laws On Apostasy, Alcohol, Criminal Sanctions and Women's Rights

Al Jazeera reported earlier this week on important legal reforms being implemented in Sudan:
Sudan approved wide-ranging amendments to its criminal law including repealing the death penalty for apostasy as well as no longer requiring women to need a permit from male family members to travel with their children....
Public flogging will also be ended and the consumption of alcohol by non-Muslims will now be permitted. ...
The new laws will also ban female genital mutilation (FGM)....

Sunday, February 02, 2020

Trump Extends Some Travel Ban Restrictions To Six More Countries

In an exceptionally long Presidential Proclamation (full text), President Trump on Friday extended tailored restrictions under his controversial travel ban to immigrants (but not temporary visitors) from six additional countries. As explained by a News Release from the Department of Homeland Security:
.... For four countries – Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, and Nigeria – the President has imposed travel restrictions on immigrant visas.
The reason is straightforward – individuals who have entered the U.S. on immigrant visas are challenging to remove even if, after admission into the U.S., the individual is linked to disqualifying information such as terrorist connections, criminal ties, or misrepresented information. 
 And because each of these countries have deficiencies in sharing terrorist, criminal or identity information, it is likely that information reflecting that a visa applicant is a threat may not be available at the time the visa or entry is approved. This is unacceptable.
 Two countries – Sudan and Tanzania – performed marginally better and the President decided to impose travel restrictions on Diversity Visas.  This is a less severe sanction compared to the general restriction on immigrant visas, given the significantly fewer number of aliens affected....
... [T]his Proclamation only restricts entry on certain categories of immigrant visas. Family members can still visit their loved ones, businesses can still employ qualified candidates, and other visits can take place on a temporary basis with a non-immigrant visa.
DHS also issued this shorter news release. Vox has more on the President's action.

Friday, December 04, 2015

27 Sudanese Muslims Charged With Apostasy For Rejecting the Hadith

In Khartoum, Sudan, 27 defendants are on trial for apostasy.  According to Middle East Online and the Sudan Tribune, the charges under Sec. 126 of the Sudanese Criminal Code potentially carries a death sentence, but such a sentence is unlikely to be carried out.  The defendants are charged with preaching that only the Qur'an had religious authority, and rejecting the authority of the Hadith and of Sunnah.

Tuesday, June 02, 2015

USCIRF Condemns Sudan's Prosecution of 2 Pastors

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued a press release yesterday condemning the government of Sudan for its continuing prosecution of two Christian clergymen on "baseless charges of undermining Sudan’s constitution and waging war against the state"-- crimes which carry a possible death penalty or life in prison.  USCIRF says:
Revs. [Yat] Michael and [Peter] Reith, both of South Sudanese origin, belong to the Presbyterian Evangelical Church Khartoum Bahri congregation.  The congregation has brought a legal case against Sudanese authorities to stop the illegal sale of church land by Sudanese authorities to a Muslim businessman.  The National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) detained Rev. Michael in December 2014, after recording him urging parishioners at a church service to continue standing firm through the trials they were experiencing.  The same month, authorities partially destroyed the church and arrested 37 congregants.  Rev. Reith was detained in January 2015.  Both pastors were held at an undisclosed location and were not granted access to lawyers and family until March 1.
The defendants are also charged with insulting  religious beliefs, breach of the public peace, arousing feelings of discontent among the regular forces and disclosure of official information.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

US Congress, European Parliament Focus On Case of Meriam Ibrahim

Yesterday, a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing titled "The Troubling Case of Meriam Ibrahim." The hearing focused on the plight of a Sudanese Christian woman, married to a U.S. citizen, who was initially convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death by a Sudanese court, her subsequent release, and efforts of her family to come to the U.S.  (See prior posting.) A video of the hearing and the prepared statements of the four witnesses at the hearing are available from the Committee's website.

Meanwhile, last week the European Parliament passed a resolution (full text) condemning Ibrahim's detention and calling for legal reform.

UPDATE: On July 24, Ibrahim, on her way to the United States, stopped off at Rome where Pope Francis met privately with her, her husband and her two small children.  The Pope blessed Ibrahim as she held her baby in her arms. (HNGN).

Thursday, July 17, 2014

After Family's Lawsuit Is Dropped, Sudanese Christian Woman May Now Be Able To Leave For U.S.

In Sudan, Mariam Yahya Ibrahim may finally be able to leave with her family for the United States.  Ibrahim, a practicing Christian, was initially sentenced to death for apostasy, but her death sentence was lifted by an appeals court. (See prior posting.)  Then her attempt to leave the country was stymied when first the government refused to recognize her travel documents from the embassy of South Sudan, and then her father's family filed suit in the Khartoum Religious Court to establish that Ibrahim is a Muslim.  However Reuters reports today that the lawsuit has been dropped without explanation. Ibrahim along with her husband (who is an American citizen) and her two children have been staying in the U.S. embassy since her release from custody. (See prior posting.)

Thursday, July 03, 2014

More Legal Problems For Christian Sudanese Woman

In Sudan, the case of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim-- whose father was Muslim, but who was raised by her mother as a Christian-- is becoming legally more complex. As previously reported, Ibrahim was initially sentenced to death for apostasy for embracing Christianity, but an appeals court last week overturned the sentence and released her from custody. (See prior posting.) However, as reported by Reuters, when Ibrahim, along with her Christian husband and her two children, attempted to fly out of the country, she was again briefly detained by police who charged her with using falsified travel documents.  Sudanese authorities objected to her travel documents that were issued by the embassy of South Sudan. After being released by police last Thursday, she and her family took up temporary residence in the U.S. embassy in Khartoum. Now a lawsuit has been filed against her in the Khartoum Religious Court, brought by her father's family, seeking to establish she is a Muslim.  If successful, that would presumably invalidate her marriage to her Christian husband (who is South Sudanese and holds American citizenship), and would impede her plans to leave Sudan.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Sudanese Appeals Court Overturns Apostasy Death Sentence of Christian Woman

In a case that has attracted widespread international attention, an appeals court in Sudan has ordered the release of Meriam Ibrahim who had been sentenced to death for apostasy. Mail Online reports that a Khartoun appeals court overturned the death sentence of the 27-year old woman who was charged with converting from Islam to Christianity.  Ibrahim's father was Muslim, but her mother was Christian and she was raised as a Christian. It is unclear whether Ibrahim's sentence of 100 lashes for adultery-- because of her marriage to her Christian husband-- also was reversed.  (See prior posting.) Ibrahim's lawyers will meet with U.S. Embassy officials today to discuss possible asylum for her in the United States. Her Christian husband is an American citizen.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Sudan Apostasy Case Draws U.S. Attention As Appeal Begins

Zegabi reports that in Khartoum, Sudan last week an Appeals Court hearing began in the case of 27-year old Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag who was sentenced to death last month for maintaining her Christian faith, as well as to 100 lashes for adultery. Ishag's's father was a Muslim; so she is considered Muslim under Sudan's personal status law and her marriage to her Christian husband is considered void. (See prior posting.)  Meanwhile the case is garnering extensive attention in the United States.  On June 12, a group of demonstrators representing 46 organizations held a protest outside the White House.  Among the protesters were Sen. Ted Cruz who later told Christian Post:
We need far more leadership speaking out for religious liberty of everyone. And especially for Christians who are being targeted.... The reason this rally and protest is outside the White House is President Obama has to date failed to provide leadership on Meriam Ibrahim.
On the same day, Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement (full text) calling on Sudan to release Ms. Ishag and to repeal its laws that are inconsistent with its 2005 Interim Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Sudanese Woman Sentenced To Flogging and Death For Apostasy and Supposed Adultery

CNN reports that in Khartoum, Sudan this week, a court has sentenced  27-year old Meriam Yehya Ibrahim to death by hanging for apostasy and to 100 lashes for adultery after she refused to recant her Christian faith.  Ibrahim was born to a Sudanese Muslim father and an Ethiopian Orthodox mother. Her father left when she was 6 years old and she was raised by her mother as a Christian. She married, has a 20-month old son and is 8 months pregnant with their second child. However because her father was Muslim, under Sudanese personal status law (based on Sharia) Ibrahim is still considered Muslim, and her marriage to a non-Muslim man is considered void-- hence the adultery charge. Ibrahim is in custody with her 20-month old son.  The verdict can be appealed. Amnesty International has strongly protested the sentence.

Monday, November 18, 2013

USCIRF Issues New Policy Brief On Role of Shariah in Sudanese Law

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom last week issued its most recent Policy Brief, this one titled Sudan’s Enduring Question: The Role of Shari'ah in the Constitution and Law, (Nov. 2013). The Policy Brief says in part:
In December 2010, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir declared that Sudan’s new constitution will be based on his government’s interpretation of Islamic (Shari’ah) law. Senior officials continue to repeat his declaration, as opposition parties and civil society representatives insist that Sudan’s new constitution be based on universal human rights and reflect Sudan’s commitments to international human rights standards, including freedom of religion or belief.
Concerns about Shari’ah being central to a future constitution ignore the fact that Sudan’s current legal system already is based on a restrictive interpretation of Shari’ah provisions and corresponding hudood, or classes of crimes with set punishments.