SUDAN: 15-YEAR-OLD SENTENCED TO DEATH

January 26, 2020:

The Sudanese cabinet expressed it unease following a court decision to execute a 15-year-old boy, local media reported.
Abbas Muhammad Nur, was sentenced to death after being convicted of killing his friend in the Rifa’a region in 2013, when he was 15 and a half year old.
Sudan Alintibaha newspaper reported on 5 January 2020 that “cabinet officials are troubled by the court’s ruling which violates the constitution which prohibits the execution of children”, it also said cabinet members fear the ruling could “impact Sudan’s foreign relations”.
The newspaper quoted an informed source as saying that “senior leaders in the Council of Ministers are concerned that the death sentence could impact Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok’s future foreign travel, especially to the United States of America.”
The source explained that the ruling was issued in accordance with the criminal act which says that 15-year-old can be sentenced to death if they show signs of puberty.