Demonstrations broke out in various locations of the Sudanese capital Khartoum and other cities such as Shendi in the north of the country and Kassala in the east of the country, to denounce the amendments that affected the laws related to alcohol and apostasy.
The demonstrators considered these amendments a setback from the limits of Islamic Sharia, and in line with the calls that they described as secular, and they demanded the authorities to back down from what they called the abolition of Islamic Sharia laws.
The demonstrators chanted slogans, "There is no substitution for the law and no turning back from the borders of God," "Islam is the nation’s constitution," and "This people is a Muslim people."
The amendment, which affected the laws related to prostitution, alcohol, and apostasy, had found widespread popular rejection, and a number of political forces had issued statements rejecting the amendment, and demanded that the controversial laws be deferred to an elected political authority.
On July 9, the government finally approved amendments to some articles of the criminal law.
The amendments, which were approved by the Transitional Sovereign Council and published in the Official Gazette, included granting non-Muslims the freedom to make and drink wine.
It also allowed women to take their children out of the country without consulting the husband, which was previously unavailable.
The government also repealed the controversial article of apostasy, according to which the perpetrator of the Islamic faith was sentenced to death, and replaced it with a new article criminalizing penance and punishing his perpetrator with 10 years imprisonment.
These amendments sparked a state of rejection and anger, especially among the forces and Islamic political currents in the country.
The government did not comment on the positions rejecting the amendments and calls to demonstrate, but its spokesman, Faisal Muhammad Salih, said in previous statements that the legal amendments were aimed at removing articles related to restrictions on freedoms.
The authorities had closed the major mosques in the three cities of the capital, Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman, before retreating and reopening them before Friday prayers. Also, since yesterday, the bridges connecting the three cities of the Sudanese capital were also closed in anticipation of these demonstrations.