March 9, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The justice minister of Sudan, Mohamed
Bushara Dosa, revealed on Friday that his ministry has formed a
committee to investigate the killing of a woman by police this week.
Dosa
announced the move when he visited on Friday the house of the victim in
Al-Deim area in central Khartoum to condole her family.
The victim Awadia Agabna was shot dead on Tuesday in front of her
house by a member of the Public Order Police (POP) during an altercation
between them and her brother after they accused him of being drunk.
The police issued a widely criticized statement saying they were
attacked by “drunk” members of the victim’s family and had to fire
“three shots in the air” to defend themselves.
Awadia’s killing sparked protests and condemnation from right groups
who criticized the POP and its law, which aims to regulate the behavior
of men and women in accordance with Islamic laws.
The minister told the victim’s family, according to Sudan’s official
news agency, SUNA, that his ministry would not hesitate to apply the law
and that all people are equal before justice.
According to Dosa, the investigation committee would operate under his personal supervision.
A number of officials including the minister of interior and governor
of Khartoum apologized to the victim’s family and promised
investigation into the case.
The interior minister revealed this week that the officer who
committed the crime had his immunity revoked and he would stand trial.
Meanwhile, the crime continued to reverberate as two politicians issued statements condemning it and blaming the authorities.
The leader of the National Umma Party (NUP), Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, said
that the “brutal” killing of Awadia was not “a product of coincidence”
but rather of laws allowing law enforcement authorities to do whatever
they want with absolute immunity.
Yasir Arman, the secretary-general of the armed opposition Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), said that his group stands
in solidarity with Awadia’s family.
He said Awadia was “assassinated by the [ruling] National Congress
Party’s leaders who invest in hatred and racism and who established
political and media platforms to spread them until they infected state
authorities including the police and security services.”
(ST)
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