SUDAN NEWS ALERT: BBC - Sudan scraps apostasy law and alcohol ban for non-Muslims

12/7/2020: BBC - Sudan scraps apostasy law and alcohol ban for non-Muslims

 The BBC report on “the first public explanation” of Sudan’s “wide-reaching reforms” including allowing non-Muslims to drink alcohol, and scrapping the apostasy law and public flogging.

 "We [will] drop all the laws violating the human rights in Sudan," Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdelbari said. He added that while non-Muslims are allowed to consume alcohol in private, the ban on Muslim drinking remains, and non-Muslims may still be punished if caught drinking with Muslims.

 Abdelbari said government was trying to safeguard the rights of the country's non-Muslims, who make up an estimated 3% of the population.

 On the scrapping of the apostasy law, Abdelbari said “we are keen to demolish any kind of discrimination that was enacted by the old regime and to move toward equality of citizenship and a democratic transformation," and that the “declaration that someone was an apostate was a threat to the security and safety of society.”