"It's a farce to describe Sudan's justice system as independent!"

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) sharply criticizes the decision of the Sudanese government not to release the Christian woman Mariam Ibrahim Yahia (who was recently sentenced to death) next few days after all –allegedly as a sign of respect towards the independence of the judiciary system. "A government that promotes impunity for serious human rights violations is now trying to act up as a savior of the rule of law – this is ridiculous! It's like setting a fox to keep the geese – and a hypocritical attempt to earn international respect," said the STP's Africa-consultant, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Monday. "In Sudan, victims of murder, rape and expulsions in the civil war regions will see no justice, especially if they belong to other religious communities. The justice system in Sudan is forced into line – and is therefore by far not to be seen as independent."

On Sunday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry had denied reports about an early release of the detainee. A ministry spokesman stated that BBC radio had apparently misunderstood a statement by the Deputy Secretary

"Sudan's Islamist judges have their own views about the basic human and civil rights," said Delius. There is no understanding at all for students and human rights activists who protest against price increases or demonstrate for more freedom of expression. They even punish young Muslim women who choose not to follow the Islamists dress code and who speak up against being treated as third-class citizens. In the civil war regions of Darfur and South Kordofan, it becomes especially evident that the judiciary system is not independent at all. "Militias, armed and controlled by the army, have been getting away with rape and murder for years," said Delius. "If the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs tries to present this legal limbo as a rule of law, then this is a travesty."

Another indicator for the worrying legal situation in Sudan is the fact that President Omar Hassan al Bashir is the world's only state leader with an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court. The systematic Islamization of the Sudanese judiciary system started in the mid-1970s and reached another level in 1989, when today's leader President Bashir took office following a military coup and subsequently appointed hundreds of Islamist judges.

Ulrich Delius, head of STP's Africa department, is available for further questions: +49 551 49906 27 or afrika@gfbv.de.