APRIL 21, 2005
Posted: May 17, 2005
Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, Al-Wifaq
LEGAL ACTION
Al-Wifaq
CENSORED
Ahmed, an editor, was tried on criminal charges of insulting the Prophet Mohammed after publishing an April 21 article in the daily Al-Wifaq. The article, by the well-known Muslim historian Al-Maqrizi, called into question the Prophet Mohammed’s lineage, according to a local source and press reports. Ahmed, himself an Islamist, claims he published the historian’s account in order to rebut it, according to the BBC and a CPJ source.
Newspapers and religious leaders attacked Ahmed following the publication of the article. The National Press Council, Sudan’s official press regulator, imposed a three-day suspension on the paper, and the state prosecutor brought charges against Ahmed.
The exact charges against Ahmed were unclear, although press reports said that Ahmed could face the death penalty if he is found guilty of apostasy.