Sudan: Information on whether a Christian woman's testimony would be admissible as evidence in a Hudud charge against a Muslim
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SDN14811 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sudan: Information on whether a Christian woman's testimony would be admissible as evidence in a Hudud charge against a Muslim, 1 August 1993, SDN14811, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abf07.html [accessed 20 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For general information on the situation of Christians in the Sudan, please refer to Responses to Information Requests SDN0093, SDN6458 and SDN12422. All of these documents are available on the REFINFO database at the Regional Documentation Centres.
News from Africa Watch notes that the Sudanese penal code, which is based on an interpretation of the Shari'a (Islamic Law), came into effect in September 1991 (9 Apr. 1991, 1). Under the provisions of this law, non-Muslims and Muslims who do not subscribe to the government's radical interpretation of Islam do not enjoy the same rights as Muslims (Ibid., 5). The Shari'a provides penalties for a range of crimes known as the hudud, and according to the source, these penalties include amputation, stoning, flogging and crucifixion (the public display of the offender's body after execution) (Ibid., 10).
Under the Shari'a, non-Muslims may not serve in high government office, the judiciary, the military or any position where they might have authority over Muslims. Under the Shari'a-based penal code, women are treated as legal minors and their right to give evidence before a court is limited (Ibid., 7). The same penal code gives women no rights in cases of adultery, and in other offences their testimony is considered to be worth half that of a man's testimony (Ibid., 7; Country Reports 1992 1993, 257). Under the penal code non-Muslims are not considered "just witnesses," and the existing Sudanese Laws of Evidence make the testimony of a non-Muslim against a Muslim unacceptable in court (News from Africa Watch 9 Apr. 1991, 5).
According to a Fund For Peace report on causes of human rights violations in the Sudan, Muslim men in the Sudan are the only group that enjoys the status and rights closest to those enjoyed in a modern state (An-Na'im and Kok 1991, 23). Women do not enjoy equality with Muslim men and the administration of justice is biased against them whether Muslim or non-Muslim (Ibid.).
Additional and/or corroborative information on the requested subject could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB in Ottawa.
References
An-Na'im, Abdullahi A. and Peter N. Kok. February 1991. "Fundamentalism and Militarism: A Report on the Root Causes of Human Rights Violations in the Sudan." New York: The Fund for Peace.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. 1993. U.S. Department of State. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.
News From Africa Watch [New York]. 9 April 1991. "Sudan: New Islamic Penal Code Violates Basic Human Rights."
Attachments
An-Na'im, Abdullahi A. and Peter N. Kok. February 1991. "Fundamentalism and Militarism: A Report on the Root Causes of Human Rights Violations in the Sudan." New York: The Fund for Peace.
News From Africa Watch [New York]. 9 April 1991. "Sudan: New Islamic Penal Code Violates Basic Human Rights," pp. 1-15.
