‘Just fall that is all’: A look at Sudan’s protests, why now and what next?

Mohaned Mustafa El-Nour is a distinguished Sudanese Human Rights Lawyer who practiced law in the country for over 13 years. He currently resides in the UK along with his family after they were forced to flee Sudan in 2018. Despite his displacement Mohaned has continued to advocate for the rights of Sudanese citizens, in this post he breaks down some of the details of the current protests in Sudan, looking at why they are different this time and what may lie ahead for the country.

“Sudan’s revolution began on 13 December in Blue Nile State, followed by Atbara State on 19 December after cuts to bread subsidies. Protests quickly spread over all Sudan, calling for the overthrow of President Bashir and his regime. So far 55 people have been shot or heavily tortured to death, and hundreds have been injured and detained.

Despite a violent official response the protests have continued for more than three months and are increasing day by day.

The revolution has become a way of life for people in Sudan. Across the country, Sudanese men and women of all ages are repeating the slogan ‘Just fall that is all’ on a daily basis.

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Justice for Noura, Justice for Sudanese women

A petition is circulating for Noura Hussein, a young Sudanese woman, to receive clemency after she was sentenced to death by hanging by a court in Khartoum last week.

Noura was charged with pre-meditated murder after she stabbed and killed a man who raped her six days after she was forced to marry him.

Her case has brought to light the legal discrimination that women in Sudan face regularly. The name of the person being charged may change, but the oppressive laws that discriminate against women of all religious and ethnic identities remain in place.

Four years ago the case of Meriam Ibrahim, a Sudanese Christian woman, caused international outcry after she was sentenced to death for apostasy and adultery. Noura’s case has yet to garner the same level of attention.

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The Impact of Sudan’s Identity War on Freedom of Religion or Belief

In June 2016, CSW joined a number of African and international civil society organisations in signing and delivering a letter marking the fifth anniversary of the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions, to 10 Downing Street. The letter urged the Prime Minister to use the UK’s considerable influence to ensure that international human rights and humanitarian law are respected.

Protesters walked from the Sudanese Embassy in London to Downing Street to deliver the letter. Among those taking part, it was striking to see veiled and unveiled Sudanese women from the Nuba Mountains, people from other parts of South Kordofan and Darfur, young children, and men in traditional Nuba dress united in calling for an end to all conflicts in Sudan.

This demonstration of unity in diversity was compelling, as was the cry for peace and freedom for all Sudanese citizens. The repression of religious and ethnic diversity in Sudan has been used repeatedly by President al Bashir’s government to sustain his 27-year rule, and what was clearly expressed on that overcast Saturday afternoon in London was the longing for an end to conflicts that serve to perpetuate a divisive government and for a lasting peace in which people can live side by side without fear, regardless of their cultural, linguistic, ethnic or religious differences.

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