Sudanese journalist jailed after refusing to pay fine for wearing trousers

www.timesonline.co.uk
The Sudanese woman put on trial for wearing trousers was spared the lash yesterday but was sent to jail after refusing to pay a £130 fine imposed for indecency.

Lubna Hussein, 34, a widow whose trial exposed draconian Islamic laws in Sudan, was taken to prison in the same trousers that she wore when she was arrested with 12 other women at a Khartoum restaurant in July.

“I will not pay a penny, I’d rather go to prison,” she declared after hearing the verdict. She will serve a one-month sentence in Omdurman.

The judge, who was aware of the worldwide interest in the case, tried to be lenient. His punishment fell short of the maximum penalty under Article 152 of Sudan’s penal code, which prescribes 40 lashes and an unlimited fine for women dressed in an indecent or obscene manner in public.

Ten of the other women arrested with Ms Hussein had pleaded guilty to the charge of indecency already and been flogged. Unlike thousands of other women arrested in similar circumstance every year, Ms Hussein, a journalist who worked for the United Nations, refused to accept her summary punishment.

“Lubna has bravely sacrificed her freedom to free other women from the oppression of the law,” Ahmed Elzobier, one of Ms Hussein’s supporters, said. “She is not guilty but the police, the court and the Government are the guilty ones. Although Lubna is going to prison, the rest of her supporters will keep challenging these laws.”

The strict law was implemented in 1991 by President al-Bashir, two years after he took power in an Islamist-inspired coup. A peace agreement in 2005, signed between Khartoum and the southern rebels, enshrined human rights in the constitution, prompting campaigners, including Amnesty International, to call for the repeal of Article 152.

At the hearing yesterday dozens of men in traditional Islamic clothing confronted about 150 of Ms Hussein’s mostly female supporters.

As the women chanted “No to whipping!” the men shouted that women in trousers were prostitutes and demanded harsh punishment for Ms Hussein. Riot police intervened and about 40 women were arrested and later released. At least one woman was taken to hospital after being beaten.

Ms Hussein has been using the website Facebook to rally worldwide support.