Sudan’s National Umma Party condemns ‘arbitrary death sentence’

Sudan’s National Umma Party has denounced a court decision sentencing Nazir (public official) Mamoun Habani to death, accusing the authorities of using the judiciary as a weapon against opponents.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the General Secretariat of the party, they confirmed that the Ed Duweim Court in White Nile state handed Habani a death sentence without granting him the right to defend himself.

The party said Habani, an elderly man, had been held in arbitrary detention for more than seven months in harsh conditions, and charged under what it called flimsy accusations of “cooperating with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).”

In their statement, they described the ruling as a political exploitation of justice, warning that the authorities seek to criminalise civilians caught between warring factions.

The party expressed outrage that the de facto government in Port Sudan “welcomes those whose hands are stained with the blood of the people and offers them forgiveness,” while persecuting people who simply remained in their areas due to the war. 

It condemned what it called a grave injustice against innocent civilians who lack safe passage.

The National Umma Party urged human rights and humanitarian organisations to condemn the ruling, monitor abuses, and document widespread violations including arbitrary arrests and politically motivated trials.

It demanded the immediate release of all civilians detained by both sides of the conflict, and the end of selective prosecutions targeting political and community leaders.

The statement further accused the de facto authority in Port Sudan of maintaining a “long and heavy record of violations”, dominated by figures from the former regime who have historically weaponised state institutions to persecute the Sudanese people.