ICC Note:
The lawyers of Justice Center Sudan (JCS) that represented Meriam Ibrahim, a mother of two sentenced to death earlier this year, have been banned from leaving Sudan after Iman Hassan, a Sudanese lawyer, submitted a letter of complaint to a Sudanese court that accused the center of stealing a case from her. Learn everything you need to know about Meriam Yahia Ibrahim’s case, here.
09/22/2014 Sudan (Morning Star News) – Sudan this week banned five attorneys from leaving the country after another lawyer accused them of tainting the country’s image by defending Meriam Ibrahim, the Christian mother of two falsely accused of apostasy, two of the attorneys said.
The move came in response to attorney Iman Hassan submitting a letter of complaint to a Sudan court accusing the defense lawyers of wresting the case from her, Ibrahim’s lawyers said. Hassan is also requesting that the court revoke the licenses of the five lawyers, who are not Christian but support the rights of Christians and other minorities in the country.
“The five attorneys have tarnished the image of Sudan by allowing human right organizations to put pressure on the government,” Hassan wrote in her complaint.
The court in Ibrahim’s case rejected Hassan’s attempt to defend the Christian mother at Ibrahim’s request, the defense attorneys said.
Ibrahim was sentenced to death after refusing to renounce Christ, but the sentence was revoked on June 23, less than two months after Morning Star News broke the story that set off a firestorm of international protests, and she was permitted to leave the country on July 24.
The defense attorneys said judicial authorities appear to be biased against them. One said he was surprised that the government sought to retaliate for a case that was already closed.
…
