Alcoholic drinks have been banned since former President Jaafar Nimeiri introduced Islamic law in 1983, throwing bottles of whisky into the Nile in Khartoum. Non-Muslims will no longer be criminalised for drinking alcohol in private, Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari told state television. Sudan will also decriminalise apostasy and ban FGM, a practice which typically involves the partial or total removal of the external genitalia of girls and women, he said. Nimeiri's introduction of Islamic law was a major catalyst for a 22-year-long war between Sudan's Muslim north and the mainly Christian south that led in 2011 to South Sudan's secession. SEE ALSO: Coronavirus puts millions more at risk of child marriage and FGM: U.N.Bashir extended Islamic law after he took power in 1989.

Source: Standard Digital July 13, 2020 08:37 UTC