Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Sudan’s Judges Resume Work After Three-day Strike
March 29, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan judges have ended a three-day strike saying the Sovereign Council which oversee the army activities responded positively to their demands.

Sudan's Supreme Court (ST photo)On Wednesday 25 March, the judges went on strike to protest an attack by an army force against a judge in the Al-Faw area, in the Gedaref State, eastern Sudan.

The attack recalled the repeated attacks humiliation by the security forces on the judges during the former regime of Omer al-Bashir.

However, on Thursday, the army spokesman said the attack was an isolated case by junior officers and reiterated the army respect to the judges and the independence of judiciary authority in the country.

Further, the military official legal measures have been taken against the assailants.

"We direct the judges of all levels and locations, and employees of the judiciary and all departments to lift the strike as of Friday evening," said Neemat Abdallah the Chief Justice of Sudan in a statement on Friday.

She said that the reasons for the strike no longer exist, and revealed that meeting took place on Thursday 25 March with a delegation of the Sovereign Council sent by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

All the demands that the judges mentioned in the memorandum submitted by the judiciary to the Sovereign Council were answered, she stressed.

The judges’ strike was criticised by some activists considering that the judiciary is an independent authority that has the means to demand the executive to remove their immunity and to refer them to the military courts before to allow their trial before the judiciary.

However, the head of the judiciary justified the strike by asserting that it was a warning that aggression in all its forms and against the citizens is contrary to constitutional and legal principles.

"The strike aims to warn that we will no longer accept the violations that occurred against judges in the past," Abdallah said.

The Attorney-general issued a statement on Thursday to condemn the attack on the judge. He further called to review security laws to allow that law enforcement agents be sued for misconduct in civil cases.

(ST)

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