A Sudanese emergency court on Sunday imposed a one-week jail term on Mariam al-Mahdi, a senior figure in the opposition Umma Party, for refusing to pay a 2,000 Sudanese pound fine linked to protest activities.
The daughter of former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, she was among several opposition leaders detained as security forces disrupted planned demonstrations against President Omar al-Bashir's nationwide state of emergency. The measure, declared on February 22, followed failed attempts to suppress nationwide protests against the president's rule.
Protest organizers had intended to march from the Umma Party's Omdurman offices, but security agents arrested key figures before the demonstration could begin. Witnesses reported riot police using tear gas to disperse crowds gathered outside the party headquarters, preventing the march from proceeding.
Mariam al-Mahdi's sister Rabah and five other Umma Party leaders also faced fines, with amounts ranging from 500 to 1,000 Sudanese pounds. After her sentencing, she was transferred to a women's prison in Omdurman, where she posted a message on social media stating, "Goodbye, I have decided not to pay the fine, so see you after three weeks." The court's decision came despite Bashir's recent order to release all women detainees from protests.
Protests initially erupted in December 19 over a government decision to triple bread prices, escalating into nationwide demonstrations against al-Bashir's regime. The president's 1989 coup, which ousted Sadiq al-Mahdi's government, remains a central point of contention. Human Rights Watch reports at least 51 deaths in protest-related violence, including medics and children, though official figures cite 31 fatalities.
