The Public Order Court in Bahri city imposed lashing and a fine on three arrested Sudanese Socialist Ba'ath Party members on Thursday. The party's spokesman said there were no lawyers present during the minute-long trial.

The party members Bashir Yaseen, Mohamed Hussein, and Mohamed Rizgallah were punished with 40 lashes and a fine of SDG100 ($17), which was immediately carried out. “The trial took place in a matter of minutes without the presence of lawyers,” spokesman Mohamed Diauddin said.

The members were arrested following the aftermath of a gathering in Bahri's central station. “This will not intimidate us,” Diauddin stressed while addressing a public gathering at Jackson Square in Khartoum on Thursday. “We will continue our mass speeches, as it is a constitutional right.”

Arrests of party members

Two members of the Socialist Ba'ath Party were arrested in Khartoum on Tuesday. Security forces had also detained four members in Omdurman on 27 April: Salah Mustafa, Abdel Gadir Ahmed, Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, and Ibrahim Ahmed Shibli in Omdurman. But late on Monday night, two politicians were released from the Haj Yousif police station in Khartoum North.

The Socialist Ba’ath Party began a public campaign against the armed conflicts in the country on Sunday. The arrests were made despite promises made by President Omar Al Bashir to facilitate a national dialogue to reunite the opposition with the government by allowing freedom of speech and gathering. 

Photo: The spokesman of the Socialist Ba'ath Party, Mohamed Diauddin, addressing a public gathering at Jackson Square in Khartoum, 1 May 2014.

Related:

More Ba'ath Party members arrested in Sudan capital (30 April 2014)

Reporting by Radio Dabanga