African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies ACJPS | المركز الافريقي لدراسات العدالة و السلام
(10 July 2022) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls upon the Sudanese authorities to stop the judicial harassment of Christian citizens. Authorities must ensure the respect for religious rights and guarantee individual’s freedom of religious creed and worship as provided for in the Constitutional Declaration and under international human rights treaties to which Sudan is a state party to.
On 22 June 2022, police in Zalingi city in Central Darfur State raided a church located in Alestad Stadium in Zalingi neighborhood and arrested four Christian men whom they found praying. The arrest of the four Christian men followed a complaint by a police officer to the office of the attorney general vide file number 1356/2022. The men were accused of committing the offence of apostasy contrary to article 126 of the Sudanese Penal code 1991.
During investigations, the men were questioned about their religious beliefs, and they responded that they are Christians. They also said that their church was built before the fall of former President, Omar Al Bashir’s regime in April 2019. However, the police insisted that the men had converted from Islam to Christianity even though they maintained that they are Christians.
The four men were later released but were rearrested shortly afterwards. On 28 June, the men were released on bail.
On 6 July, the case file was closed as the offence of apostasy was repealed from the Sudanese Penal Code following the amendments made in criminal law during the transitional period. The four men are Badur Eldien Haroun Abdul Jabar (20); Mohamed Haroun Abdul Jabar (22); Murtada Ismail Yousuf (20) and Tariq Adam Abdallah (21).
In July 2021, the transitional authorities decriminalized the crime of apostasy following significant reforms to Sudan’s Criminal Act 1991. Renouncing Islam had been punishable by flogging, imprisonment, and death in Sudan. Despite this amendment, Sudanese security agencies have continued to harass Christians by raiding churches and arresting individuals who have converted from Islam to Christianity.
ACJPS calls on Sudanese authorities to respect the freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitutional Declaration of 2019 and International treaties ratified by Sudan. Article 48 of the Constitutional Declaration of 2019 guarantees the right to equality before the law including protection from discrimination on grounds of religious faith. Article 50 further provide for freedom of religious belief and worship. It states that “Every person has the right to freedom of religious belief and worship. They shall have the right to profess or express their religion or belief through worship, education, practice, performance of rituals, or celebrations, in accordance with the requirements of the law and public order. No one shall be compelled to convert to a religion they do not believe in or to practice rites or rituals they do not voluntarily accept.”
Background
Increasing restrictions on religious freedoms have been documented, particularly targeting members of Christian churches in Sudan. This has included raids on churches and harassment and arrests of church members by security agencies. These attacks and harassment fail to reflect legal commitments made by Sudan of equality before the law. During Sudan’s periodic review in January 2022, recommendations were made for Sudanese authorities to enhance the promotion of religious tolerance.
For further information, contact Mossaad Mohamed Ali at: mossaad.ali@acjps.org
