effect that it would consider Communications based on the Complainants submission
and information at its disposal, even if the State fails to submit. Consequently, it will
give due weight to the Complainants' allegations insofar as they have been adequately
substan tiated.
I
The Complainants'
94.
Submission
of the Merits
The Complainants introduced a factual background of the case, accounting for the ordeal
the Victims suffered due to what appeared as an inadequate legal framework of the
Respondent State with such issues ranging from geD;~~~i-based
violence and denial of
religious freedom to poor detention conditions ana,. finally, submitted that the
Respondent had violated its legal obligations t(ttespect and,protect the rights of the
Complainants under the African Charter as chro'r'l~logicallysh~wn below.
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Article 2: The right to freedom from discrim .
~>
.
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.
95. The Complainants submitted that the Sudanese
Authorities viol~ted
the ngll~
of the first
.
~~
.
Victim to non-discrimination, a she face4.p,~rsecuti,o.q.
based 0 .. er gendef'as a female
and religion as a Christian. They . ~!Pthat Iiid"she b~~nthe dau • ".,.tofa Christian man
who converted to Islam, she would not have been charged with apostasy. Furthermore,
they assert that if she w;,~,aMuslim ffi"
arriedtoa Christian woman, she would not
have been convicted ofl<la~~!~ery.
~~',
,plainanfs.contended that such differential
treatment is dis.~~im~atory;~,'.f.~P , , g' a,;}&r,avem~sc::uriageof justice. They also
submitted thai
. offense o£''''''':',
in Sud~~7v:~e
law*is particularly discriminatory
against wome as evident in this' .. e, where onlylhe first Victim and not her husband,
the second Victim, were convicted. '~ .
.'.
.
.
i
96.
The,@()mplainants argue that the application of Sudanese criminal laws resulted in the
firs
receiving\;1~heharshest pu~!shment of corporal punishment and the death
pena ",r,I,,,
i:.ew-phasizethat such H(,'?J!lalties
for offenses like apostasy and adultery are
entirely:'1ispr6pq~9:0nate and violat~,Sudan's international human rights obligations.
Furtherm~i~r,'theY]lt~~~+$htthe wrongful detention of the first Victim and her children
in deplora:'ij!~l.CQQA~lionsit~~E'
over five months, during which the first Victim received
inadequate meaic,al care while pregnant and after giving birth. The Complainants stress
that the first
im and her family faced severe threats to their lives and were forced to
flee Sudan und
treme and high-risk circumstances.
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.
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vi
They concluded that the Sudanese Authorities violated the first Victim's rights to nondiscrimination through discriminatory treatment based on her gender and religion. The
imposition of corporal punishment and the death penalty for apostasy and adultery
offenses is disproportionate and a gross violation of Sudan's international human rights
obligations. Additionally, the wrongful detention and inadequate med~al care
experienced by the first Victim and her family further compound the violati6$~~liT~
R
them.
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f;~
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Article 3: Right to Equal Protection Before the Law
(,)
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97.
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