According to the Associated Press, Ms. Gibbons has been found guilty and sentenced to prison and deportation. No word on whipping.

More to come…

Update: 15 days imprisonment.

Update II: According to The Daily Mail, the prison where Ms. Gibbons is to spend her 15 day sentence was designed to hold 200 women, and currently houses 1,500 women and children. On the other hand, Sudanese officials are rumored to have started processing deportation papers for this weekend, suggesting she may be sent home early.

Update III: According to Rational Jenn, Fox News, &c., protesters are demanding Gibbons’ execution. According to CNN, her time served counts toward the 15 days, so she has 10 days to go. Additional international negotiations to secure early, safe release are ongoing.

I wonder if the Sudan Riot Police will be as protective of her when she is released as they were when she was in court.

Update IV: The mob calling for Ms. Gibbons’ death is now thousands strong, and Ms. Gibbons has been moved to a “secret location” for her protection.

The insane, destructive fervor into which True Believers are able to whip themselves loses no horror by being commonplace. (See, e.g., The Salman Rushdie knighthood, the Danish cartoons, the Miss World protests, etc.)

Posted by Qwertz at 2:32pm on 29 Nov | No Comments

According to this CNN.com article,

Gibbons had been charged under Article 125 of Sudan’s constitution, the law relating to insulting religion and inciting hatred.

According to the Sudanese Embassy in Canada [pdf], Article 125 of the Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan (1998) reads:

Article 125
Popular Defense Force

1. The Republic of Sudan may establish a volunteer Popular Defense Force from among the Sudanese people for national defense, to maintain national security, or to assist any regular forces. The Popular Defense Force shall be under the command of the National Armed Forces or the Police and shall promote defense, security and other general purposes.
2. The law shall determine organization, duties and supervision over the Popular Defense Forces.

This Article 125 gives the government the power to establish, basically, a volunteer National Guard.

There is also an Interim National Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan, (2005). Its Article 125 reads:

1. The National Supreme Court shall:
   1. be a court of cassation and review in respect of any criminal, civil and administrative matters arising out of, or under national laws, or personal matters,
   2. have criminal jurisdiction over the Justices of the Constitutional Court,
   3. review death sentences imposed by any court in respect to matters arising out of, or under national laws,
   4. have such other jurisdiction as determined by this Constitution and the law.
2. The Chief Justice of the Republic of the Sudan may establish panels for the purposes of considering and deciding on matters requiring special expertise, including commercial,
   personal or labour matters.

This Article 125 sets up the jurisdiction of the Sudanese Supreme Court, and enables the Chief Justice to establish panels of Special Masters.

What the hell do either of these have to do with blasphemy, sharia, whipping, or teddy bears? Or the criminal law in general? Ms. Gibbons cannot have been “charged under Article 125 of Sudan’s constitution,” as the CNN.com article says. Neither provision (and I cannot tell for sure which one is currently in effect in Sudan; I have conflicting sources) has anything whatsoever to do with the issue, unless Ms. Gibbons’ prosecution is being heard by the Supreme Court of Sudan, which isn’t mentioned. Even if that were the case, Ms. Gibbons cannot have been charged under Article 125, because Article 125 does not provide for the charging of criminals.

I do so wish CNN.com would do just a teensy bit of fact-checking.

Posted by Qwertz at 10:35am on 29 Nov | 2 Comments