Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed was found guilty of “murder”, “causing injury intentionally” and “robbery”. Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman was found guilty of “being an accomplice”. The boys lawyer will submit an appeal against the sentence to the court of appeal in Nyala on 15 May.

On 28 February 2007 Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed is accused of breaking into a house in the Alwhad area in Nyala, armed with a knife. A man living in the house raised the alarm and three male members of the family rushed to the scene. A scuffle ensued between the family members and Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed. Whilst the family members attempted to restrain him, Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed stabbed two of the men leaving one fatally wounded.

Once the family members had managed to restrain the intruder they took him to a police station. At this point Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed alleged to the police that his friend Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman had also been involved in the crime. Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman was then arrested and charged as an accomplice. He was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Majority of Sudan’s population are Arab Muslims. The government of Sudan which has poor human right records, maintains close ties with the Islamic regime in Iran. Sudan executed two minors on August 31, 2005. Child offenders have been among several groups of people sentenced to death by a special court in the western province of Dafur since 2002. The special court’s procedures fall far short of international norms for a fair trial. The Constitution of Sudan, ratified on July 9, 2005, failed to abolish the death penalty in Sudan — particularly as it applies to those under the age of 18. Sudan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 3 August 1990 and is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under the terms of these treaties, Sudan has undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed whilst under 18 years of age.

Stop Child Execution Campaign oppose child Execution in all countries and appeal to the Sudanese Government to comply with it’s obligation to the United Nation’s Children Rights Covenants.

 What you can do to help:

• expressing concern for Abdelrhman Zakaria Mohamed and Ahmed Abdullah Suleiman;
• stating that children detained should only be held in juvenile offenders institutions and only tried in a juvenile court with full protection of their rights as children;
• remind the government of Sudan that the use of death penalty against child offenders – people who were under 18 at the time of the crime – is prohibited under international law. The Geneva Conventions, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all have provisions exempting this age group from execution.