SUDAN NEWS ALERT: AP - Sudan ruling council appoints 2 to top judicial posts

10/10/19: AP - Sudan ruling council appoints 2 to top judicial posts, by Noha Elhennawy

AP’s feature piece provides background information and reactions to Sudan’s appointment to two new appointees to top judicial posts.

 New judiciary chief Neamat Kheir, the first woman to rise to the highest judicial post in Sudan, was not known to compromise her integrity to serve the interests of al-Bashir’s government, but widely criticized for not having supported the Sudanese uprising since its inception.

 Amal al-Zein of the Communist Party said she was happy to see a woman holding a top post, but said that many activists hoped that a more outspoken judge would take the post. However, she said that new public prosecutor Taj al-Ser Al-Hebr was among the Sudanese lawyers widely known for their opposition to al-Bashir.

 Rasha Awad, editor of Altaghyeer newspaper said: “it is too early to decide whether these appointments are the best choice.”

SUDAN NEWS ALERT: Multiple sources – Sudan appoints first female judiciary head to fight corruption

10/10/19: Multiple sources – Sudan appoints first female judiciary head to fight corruption

 Sudan’s transitional government has named Neamat Kheir, a veteran judge, as the first woman chief of the judiciary.

 Mohamed al-Fakki Soliman, spokesman for Sudan’s joint civilian-military Sovereign Council, said that Kheir, alongside the public prosecutor Taj Al-Sir Al-Hebr, will soon examine corruption cases and crime committed under al-Bashir.

 As the former head of the administrative department of the Supreme Court, Kheir was known for issuing a ruling in November 2016 to preserve the ownership of a church in Omdurman to the evangelical church in Sudan. She is also one of the founders of the Sudanese Judges Club which participated in the four-month protests to topple the former regime.

 She was nominated by the Forces of Freedom and Change, in recognition of the role played by women in the uprising, and attempts to remove al-Bashir allies from the judiciary.