Sudan: Intisar Sharif Adbdalla must not be executed!

Last Update 5 June 2012

The Coalition of organizations members of the Campaign, "Africa for Women's Rights: Ratify and Respect" strongly condemn the sentence to death by stoning of Intisar Sharif Abdalla, a twenty-year old Sudanese woman, native to the Nuba Mountains, on accusations of adultery. Our organizations urge the Sudanese authorities to overturn this sentence and immediately proceed to Intisar Sharif's unconditional release.

On May 13th 2012, the criminal court of Ombada, Khartoum state, sentenced Intisar Sharif Abdalla to death by stoning on charges of adultery under article 146.1(a) of Sudan's 1991 penal code dealing with "punishment for Zina". During her trial, Intisar Sharif, who initially pleaded "not guilty", was denied all minimum guarantees required in such a criminal case : she did not benefited from any legal representation ; nor from the assistance of an interpreter despite her limited knowledge of Arabic. It is also to be noticed that Intisar Sharif, who has reportedly been beaten by her brother, later "admitted" to the charges.

"This sentence, based on the unique testimony of a threatened woman and delivered after an obviously unfair trial, is inconsistent with Sudan's regional and international human rights obligations" declared the undersigned organizations. "The overturn of this sentence and the immediate release of Intisar Sharif are the only conceivable options for Sudan" they added.

A legal team set up with the help of women's rights organizations recently filed an appeal at Ombada's Court of Appeals. Meanwhile, Intisar Sharif is being maintained at the Omdurman Women's Prison of Khartoum with her four-month old baby. For our organizations, "the case of Intisar Sharif, whose co-accused has not been convicted, is symptomatic not only of the failures of the administration of justice in Sudan but also of the persisting and serious discrimination against women in this country".

According to our organizations, "this sentence, pronounced in illegal conditions, raises the urgency of the establishment of a moratorium on executions in Sudan". The Campaign "calls on the authorities not to proceed to the execution of Intisar Sharif and to adopt such a moratorium as a first step towards de jure abolition".

Signatory organizations:

• African Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) – Gambia
• African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) – Sudan
• Al Khatim Adlan center for human development and Enlightenment (KACE)
• Association africaine de défense des droits de l'Homme (ASADHO) – Democratic Republic of Congo
• Association Capverdienne des Femmes Juristes (AMJ) – Cape Verde
• Associação Justiça, Paz e Democracia (AJPD) – Angola
• Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia – Liberia
• Association malienne des droits de l'Homme (AMDH) – Mali
• Association mauritanienne des droits de l'Homme (AMDH) – Mauritania
• Cause Rurale – Democratic Republic of Congo
• Centre des Femmes pour la Paix (CFP) – Burundi
• Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) – Nigeria
• Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre
• DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights – Botswana
• Dushirehamwe Network – Burundi
• Female Lawyers Association of the Gambia – Gambia
• Femmes debout pour défendre ses droits (FDPDD)
• Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI) – Uganda
• Groupe Lotus (GL) – Democratic Republic of Congo
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
• Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) – South Africa
• Legal and Human Rights Center (LHRC) – Tanzania
• Ligue des électeurs (LE) – Democratic Republic of Congo
• Ligue ITEKA – Burundi
• Ligue sénégalaise des droits humains (LSDH) – Senegal
• Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'Homme (LTDH) – Chad
• Ligue togolaise des droits de l'Homme (LTDH) – Togo
• Mouvement burkinabé des droits de l'Homme et des peuples (MBDHP) – Burkina Faso
• Mouvement pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme ADALCI Niamey – Niger .
• No to Women Oppression Coalition
• Observatoire congolais des droits de l'Homme (OCDH) – Republic of Congo
• Organisation guinéenne des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen (OGDH) – Guinea Conakry
• Organisation nationale des droits de l'Homme (ONDH) – Senegal
• Rencontre africaine pour la défense des droits de l'Homme (RADDHO) – Senegal
• Strategic initiative for women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA)
• The REDEMEC – Network of Women Economists – Cape Verde
• The Women's Peace Center – Burundi
• Union interafricaine des droits de l'Homme (UIDH)
• Women In Law and Development in Africa – Afrique de l'Ouest (WILDAF West Africa)
• Women In Law and Development in Africa – Togo (WILDAF Togo)
• Women's Learning Partnership for Rights Development and Peace
• Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZIMRIGHTS) – Zimbabwe