2020-JUL: A major and rapid
shift toward religious and other
forms of tolerance in Sudan:

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The Republic of Sudan is located in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Egypt, Lybia, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Its people are predomately Muslim.

During 2014, Meriam Ibrahim, who was in an advance stage of pregnancy, was arrested, and sentenced to death. She had been raised by a Christian mother and a Muslim father. Her "crime '"was to chose to follow her mother's religion.

She gave birth while in prison, and was released after groups, including Amnesty International, campaiged for her release.

The death penalty in Sudan was performed by hanging or crucifixion.

Homosexuality is still illegal. However, in 2020-JUL, the sentence became life imprisonment rather than execution. ₁

During mid-2020-JUL, tens of thousands of people staged a major demonstration in favor of faster law reforms and greater civilian rule in the country.

On 2020-JUL-21, the Atheist Republic and the New York Times published articles describing rapid changes to the country's laws expected in the near future. They include:

Ending the apostasy law which included a death sentence for Muslims who had chosen to abandon their religon;
Allowing non-Muslims to drink alcohol;
Abandoning public floggings, which sometimes caused the death of the victim, and
Allowing women with children to travel from their home without their husband's permission.

Sudan had recently ciminalized the practice of female genital mutilation. _2,3

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Nasredeen Abdulbari, the Justice minister of Sudan, announced on state television that:

"As a government, our work is to protect all Sudanese citizens based on the Constitution and based on laws that should be consistent with the Constitution."

References used:

"Sudan," Wikipedia, as on 2020-JUL-21, Wikipedia, at: https://en.wikipedia.org/
"Sudan Scraps Death Penalty for Apostasy," Atheist Republic email, 2020-JUL-21.
Abdi Latif Dahir, "Sudan Will Scrap Alcohol and Apostasy Laws, and End Flogging," New York Times, 2020-JUL-13, at: https://www.nytimes.com/

Original posting: 2020-JUL-21
Author: B.A. Robinson