Sudanese Cops Beat Pants Protesters

(NEWSER) - A local woman working for the United Nations in Sudan has been charged with wearing “clothing causing harassment to the public sentiments” and could be flogged 40 times tomorrow for the crime, the Washington Post reports. Lubna Ahmed Hussein and 12 other women were rounded up earlier this month at a Khartoum café for wearing pants. “Maybe I'll be punished,” she says calmly. “The judge will decide. I'm not afraid.” More»

(NEWSER) - A former UN worker who faces possible lashing in Sudan for wearing pants blasted flogging as an "insult" to humans that has nothing to do with Islam and everything to do with "men mistreating women," she tells the Guardian. Lubna Ahmed Hussein and 12 other women were busted recently as they listened to a singer in a Khartoum club. Those who pleaded guilty to "indecent" dress for wearing slacks were flogged. But Hussein is determined to fight the charges. More»

Authorities promise investigation after disturbing film goes viral

(NEWSER) - A video of a Sudanese woman being mercilessly flogged by policemen has gone viral and Sudan's government has promised to investigate whether she was flogged properly. The video shows an unidentified young woman being ordered to sit in a parking lot, where she is whipped by laughing policemen, AP reports. It's not clear what crime she had committed, although offenses punishable by flogging in Sudan include adultery, running a brothel, and, for women, wearing trousers. More»

Lubna Hussein plans appeal to country's constitutional court

(NEWSER) - The Sudanese woman arrested in July for wearing pants has been fined around $200 but will not receive the 40 lashes once threatened, CNN reports. Lubna Hussein, an erstwhile UN worker who resigned in order to waive immunity and challenge her prosecution, says she will not pay the fine and will instead spend a month in prison. Her lawyer says she plans to appeal the case to the country’s constitutional court. More»

(NEWSER) - Five House Democrats were arrested today at a protest outside the Sudanese embassy in Washington, the AFP reports. The five are being detained, along with three protest organizers, for refusing a police order to disperse. The protesters were calling for the Sudan to allow humanitarian groups to return to Darfur. More»