Women fined and whipped for demonstration in Sudan

AFP, Wednesday 3 Decemer 1997, 5:05:46 PST

KHARTOUM, Dec 3 (AFP)—A Khartoum court has fined 37 Sudanese women for staging an illegal protest over compulsory military service for students, as well as fining their lawyer, a government newspaper reported Wednesday.

The court late Monday fined the women 10,000 Sudanese pounds (about six dollars) each and had 12 of them whipped, while the defence lawyer was fined 500,000 pounds (about 300 dollars), the Al-Anbaa daily said.

The report was the first official reference to a demonstration in which over 70 women, according to witnesses, marched towards the UN Khartoum offices to lodge their protest against the sending last September of a number of high school-leavers to the war front against rebels in south Sudan.

They were blocked by riot police who arrested 37 women and took them to the public order tribunal late Monday night and gave 12 of them 10 lashes each, in addition to the 10,000-pound fine.

According to the official daily, the tribunal found the women guilty of instigating riot.

The daily added that the investigation had shown that the women were not involved in the national (compulsory military) service and none of them has a son or a relative among the conscripts.

Witnesses reported that a large number of lawyers showed up at the court to defend the women.

The paper said the tribunal also fined a lawyer it did not name 500,000 Sudanese pounds for what it regarded as contempt of court.

High school leavers wanting to go to university have been sent to fight the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) led by Colonel John Garang, which has been battling since 1983 to end domination of the mainly animist and Christian south by the Moslem, Arabised north.