A Christian woman, Seema Ali Osman, was found innocent of indecent or immoral dress under Article 152 of the Sudanese Criminal Code on 16 August, reports CSW.
Osman’s was the final verdict in a series of trials following the arrest in June of a group of Christian women for wearing trousers and skirts. On 13 August three were found guilty of indecency at Sudan’s Public Order Court.
Nasra Omer Kakoum, Wegdan Aba Alla Salih and Uthan Omer Eljaily were fined 500 Sudanese pounds for indecent or immoral dress under Article 152. This was later reduced to 50 Sudanese pounds (approximately $8).
The women were part of a larger group of Christians from the Nuba Mountains and were leaving a service at El Isba Baptist Church in Khartoum when they were arrested. Two were later released without charge, four also stood trial but were found innocent.
The Guardian reported that at an earlier trial, one of the girls, Fardos Al Toum, 19, narrowly escaped a potential punishment of 40 lashes. According to her lawyer, Muhamad Mustafa she was instead given a lecture “about the appearance of decent women”.
The report says the case has been one “that human rights groups say is further damning evidence of the government’s intolerance to its Christian population”.